Kakashi's Daughter: Another Haunted Mind
by thepandanerd
Summary: Kakashi discovers he has a daughter: Yuuki. She has a haunted past full of unpleasant memories. After a rather tough beginning on life, Yuuki never believed that she had a home. Not until now. The story goes on as in the anime, though Yuuki may and may not change a few things... A/N: The FULL version of this is published on my Quotev-profile: thepandanerd (It's still on-going tho)
1. A surprise

Just as he was going to meet the new, potential team 7, Kakashi was informed that the Hokage wished to see him. Immediately. He didn't bother hurrying towards the old man's office or knocking on the door.

"Hello, Kakashi, " the old man greeted as Kakashi entered the room. However, the Hokage was not the only other person in the room. A girl, about thirteen years old with an aloof attitude and silver hair stood besides him.

"Who is this? " Kakashi asked, looking at the girl with bored eyes.

"Are you Hatake Kakashi, sir? " The girl asked with a cool and collected voice.

"Who are you? " He asked, avoiding her question.

"My name is Yuuki, sir, Hatake Yuuki. I believe you're my father, sir, " she said without looking away. Kakashi's visible eye widened as he heard the girl's words.

"Kakashi, as you can hear this young lady claims to be your daughter. She says the name of her mother is Hotaru, do you know anyone by that name, Kakashi? " Sandaime asked, a hand placed firmly on the girls shoulder. She glanced at it, clearly uncomfortable, but stayed still as if not wanting to cause any trouble. Kakashi kept an emotionless facade, though he was truly doubting the reality if this situation. Could it be?

"Yes, sir, I know Hotaru… Kid? " Kakashi said and looked at the girl, "how old are you? "

"Thirteen, sir. I think, " She answered, mumbling the last part.

"You think? " Kakashi and Sandaime repeated skeptically.

"Well, I never had the opportunity to celebrate a proper birthday because.. uh, " the girl looked agitated, as if not wanting to continue her sentence. She inhaled sharply and, while looking into her so-believed father's eye, said,

"... my mother was... " she hesitated again, but, as if regretting doing so, she then straighten up, now with a just as emotionless look as the white haired jounin before her.

"She was murdered, sir, shortly after my birth, less than a year I believe. I do not know why, but I know that the people from the Land of Water hated her, like they hate me. Although, I believe my birthday is late August or early September. Therefore, I believe my current age is thirteen or so."

A long time of tense silence filled the room afterwards and it was as if the time had slowed down, dragging every moment into eternity. The Hokage broke the silence with a low and serious tone,

"Kakashi, what does this tell you? What does this tell us? " He asked, looking at the silver haired Jounin who could only stare at the young girl before him in shock, unable to speak for the moment. He cleared his throat awkwardly and said,

"It means, sir, that she is… that she is mine. This girl is my daughter..., " he said to the Hokage, barely believing his own words.

Not even Sandaime could keep himself from looking surprised by the words that Kakashi had uttered just seconds ago. He wanted to ask the Jounin if he was sure, but, judging by the Kakashi's facial expression, he seemed to be quite certain. _How_ , the Hokage wanted to ask, but that question already had an answer. _When_? Well, about thirteen years ago, he figured, just as Kakashi had. _What now_? _Would the girl stay with Kakashi, her father?_ With his new job as a Sensei he wouldn't have time to look after her. Unless…

"Yuuki, " the Hokage looked at the girl beside him, but when she returned his look, he immidiately removed his hand from her shoulder since it was clear that what he had meant as a supportive gesture, was not appreciated.

"Yes, sir? " The girl said with a tense voice. She seemed troubled, as if trying to keep herself under control, though her expression stayed the same: Emotionless and unaffected... just like her father.

"Do you know how to fight? Have you, in the past thirteen or twelve years, trained in any way as a ninja? Do you believe that you could survive a mission?" He noticed the sudden tension in her voice.

"Sir? How is this relevant? " The girl asked with a raised brow, otherwise unaffected by the Hokage's serious tone. Quite unwillingly, Kakashi felt a tingle of pride at his daughter's comeback towards the honorable man. Instead of laughing though, he smiled underneath his mask.

"I shall give you permission, Yuuki, if you have the experience and abilities, to join your father's team 7, currently consisting of three Genins. If the team passes the test, you will train and complete missions with them, as a member of the team. So, do you have what it takes, I ask again? "

"Yes, sir. " She said, unaffected by his harsh tone, and looked towards Kakashi, who was still secretly smiling.

Kakashi had indeed never felt any kind of feeling like this before. He remembered how he had wished that his own father had not taken his life, and he remembered how lonely life had become afterwards. He was determined to make his absence, and therefore his mistake (wether he knew she existed or not), good again. He wanted to make up for the fact that he had failed to be there for this young girl.

"Good, well then it's settled. Kakashi, " Sandaime looked towards the male and said, "I believe you have some students waiting for you? "

"Yes, sir. " Kakashi said and told his daughter to follow, then they went to meet the new, potential team 7.


	2. Team 7

"I thought we were in a hurry, sir? " Yuuki asked the man as he strolled through the hall towards the classroom.

"We are, " he said, but didn't go any faster. She shrugged, not really caring whether they were late or not.

"Sir? " Yuuki said as they turned around a corner.

Kakashi stayed quiet, but looked at her to let her know that he was listening.

"I want you to know, that I understand if you don't want me to use your surname in public, " she said, looking forward to avoid eye contact, " and I never have, sir. I haven't told them- _anyone_ , I mean. I haven't told anyone. However, I cannot use my mother's surname either. That's why I didn't tell the Hokage or you when we met... For several reasons, sir, but most importantly, enemies. My mother's enemies for one, among others. Using her name could attract unwanted attention, sir, and I don't want to bother you, or the Hokage, or anyone else for that matter, with my problems. However, since you knew my mother, you must already know all of this? "

Kakashi thought of it for a second - not the surname thing - but about his daughter's enemies. The truth was, that he never knew Hotaru's last name; she never told him; she thought it was too dangerous. _What kind of enemies_ , Kakashi wanted to ask his daughter. It seemed, judging by the haunted look in her eyes, that someone had tried to get her to talk... some way or another. Kakashi could only imagine what kind of people she'd met, and what kind of things they'd done to her, only to get information about him or her mother... and despite all the horrible things that people might have done to her, she hadn't told them - she hadn't told anyone about him. Kakashi's eyes softened... this girl really was something special and he felt his usually cold heart warm up a bit. He was a father now, after all.

Although, the fact that she didn't want to bother him with her problems, hurt him. He figured she'd said it to be nice, or most likely just to be honest, judging by her way of speaking and acting she didn't seem like one to put much thought about other's thoughts or feelings towards her, but he wanted to help her nonetheless. He'd loved Hotaru very much, still did (and the news of her death had of course hurt him too. Though the fact that a loved one of his had died weren't something new, and he had learned to keep his feelings to himself), but she would always hide her problems too. _She takes after her mother_ , he thought and smiled under his mask.

"Kid, you can use my surname as much as you'd like, " he said, this time smiling with his visible eye. He wanted to tell her that she didn't have to hide her problems either, but he didn't know enough about her past to say that, not yet anyway. But he knew what kind of place the Land of Water was... and if Hotaru had enemies from there, and he knew _he_ had, then Yuuki was sure to have too.

They reached the classroom and just as Kakashi entered, a chalk eraser fell onto his head. Yuuki went to the top of the building - instructions from her father. Kakashi didn't seem to care about the eraser nor the boy, probably the guy who put the thing there in the first place, who was laughing himself to dead, shouting, "He fell for it! He fell for it! He fell for it! " while pointing a mocking finger at him. A girl with pink hair and a large forehead, panicked and started rambling while looking innocent,

"I'm sorry, Sensei, I tried to stop him, b-but Naruto-kun didn't listen to me…, " the girl apologized.

There was another boy, he had raven hair and a very unfriendly attitude, and he didn't say anything. Out loud, anyway. Kakashi picked up the eraser, "How should I say this…, " he thought out loud, "…my first impressions of you guys are…" He made a gesture, as if he was thinking very hard and finally he finished with, "I hate you. " All three kids looked very dissatisfied and gloomy at his comment.

They all went to the top of the academy to have a meeting, except for Yuuki, who had decided to place herself on the rooftop of the building next to the academy, unseen and unheard by the other three students. She had a habit of staying in the shadows, and she was having a hard time controlling it. This would have to do for now.

"Let's see, why don't you introduce yourselves, " Kakashi said.

"Introduce ourselves? What should we say? " the forehead girl asked,

"What you like, hate, your dreams, and hobbies, " Kakashi said, shrugging carelessly, "something like that. " The blond boy asked if Kakashi could introduce himself first, and so he did:

"Me? I'm Hatake Kakashi. I have no intentions of telling you what my likes and dislikes are… as for my dreams… I have few hobbies. " Kakashi finished, practically only telling them his name, "now it's your turn. You first, " he said, pointing at one of the boys.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto! I like cup ramen, but I like the ramen at Ichiraku that Iruka-Sensei bought for me even more. I hate the three minutes that I have to wait after I put the hot water in! My hobby is to eat and compare cup ramens! And my dream is to become greater than all the Hokages! I'm going to make all the villagers recognize my existence. " The boy finished with a determined look in his ocean blue eyes. Yuuki thought he was a bit strange, and loud too (way too loud if for her liking), but the boy seemed nice enough.

"Okay, next, " Kakashi said, referring to the pink haired girl.

"I'm Sakura Haruno! I like… well the person I like is…, " she said and glanced at the other boy. He didn't seem to notice (or care), "and my hobby is…, " she looked at the boy again and blushed, "my dream is to…, " she glanced at the boy a final time and squealed while hiding her face.

"And? What do you hate? " Kakashi asked.

"Naruto. " She stated, which made the blonde look rather sad.

"Last guy, " Kakashi said, referring to the raven haired boy.

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. "

Yuuki winched at the name. So this was Sasuke?

"I hate a lot of things, and I don't particularly like anything. " Yuuki noticed that the girl, Sakura, looked rather disappointed at his comment about 'not liking anything'.

"What I have is not a dream because I will make it a reality. I'm going to restore my clan, and kill a certain someone. " Sasuke finished.

Sakura giggled again and eyed Sasuke, thinking he was cool. Kakashi didn't seem to find it interesting at all, and Naruto was silently panicking because he thought Sasuke wanted to kill him. Yuuki stayed quite, but her heart was pounding very uncomfortably, and her nerves were on edges. Her hands was folded in tight fists...

 _I have to stay away from him_ , Yuuki thought, surprised of the way her body was acting.

"Okay, Yuuki, you're up, " Kakashi said and looked towards her standing on the other building. The other three looked her way too, though only Sasuke was able to actually sense her chakra.

"Sir? Me too...? But I'm not- " she objected as she jumped down and landed in front of the three other students who all looked surprised. Naruto shouted in surprise and started asking questions like, where she'd come from and when she'd gotten there. Sakura narrowed her eyes, _why is there another girl here?_ She thought, mentally shouting. Inner Sakura fist bumped the air while shouting " _ **RIVAL OF LOVE**_!"  
Yuuki didn't bother any of them.

"Just do it, kid, " Kakashi said and gave her a one-eyed, end-of-discussion look. She sighed (gee, _dads_ ), but said,

"Whatever. My name is Yuuki. " Kakashi noticed that she didn't use a surname at all, and felt his heart drop a little; he had secretly wished for her to use his... He straightened up, puling himself together. Though he couldn't quite shake the feeling off completely.

"I'm not going to tell you my likes and dislikes, since I don't think that's any of your business. You don't need to know my dreams of the future either, just that I _will_ make it happen. I don't have many hobbies. " Sasuke looked at her with his cold onyx eyes, and Yuuki did her best to stay calm, though those orbs were so similar to _his_...

Sakura was mentally freaking out:

 _ **SHE'S NOT TOO UGLY, DAMN IT!  
BUT SHE NEEDS TO STAY AWAY FROM MY SASUKE-KUN!  
DAMN IT! DAMN IT! DAMN IT!  
WHY IS SASUKE_KUN LOOKING AT HER AND NOT ME?  
SHE DOESN'T HAVE A BIG FOREHEAD...  
BUT HER EYES ARE SCARY!  
... BUT ALSO PRETTY...  
GAHHH, WHY IS SASUKE-KUN LOOKING AT HER LIKE THAT?!**_

Inner Sakura angrily threw punches at the girl. She was pretty, no one could argue against that. The sun reflected in her silver hair, just like it did in Kakashi-Sensei's, her eyes were an exotic, purple color and though she wasn't smiling, Sakura feared that her smile was even prettier than her hair. _Damn it_ , she thought, _why is she here anyway? Shouldn't this be a three-man squad? I want Sasuke-kun for myself..._ Sakura pouted.

"Alright, you four all have unique personalities. I like that, " Kakashi said and snapped Sakura back to reality, "we're going to begin a mission, starting tomorrow. " Naruto eagerly asked what kind of mission it was.

"First, we're going to do something that the five of us can do together. "

"Nee! Nee! What is it? " Naruto asked eagerly and loud. Yuuki stepped back into the shadow of the roof, not feeling safe as she stood where everyone could see her. She felt the intense gaze from a certain Uchiha, though he looked away quickly.

"Survival training, " Kakashi said and looked discreetly at Yuuki with a worried look. They momentarily looked at each other, though neither of them showed much emotion as they did so.

"Survival training? " Sakura and Naruto repeated. Sakura complained afterwards, asking why they had to train, since they had plenty of training in the academy, according to her. Naruto curiously asked what kind of training it was. Kakashi laughed at that. Sakura, annoyed, asked what he was laughing about.

"Well, if I say this you're going to be surprised, " Kakashi explained, smiling with his eye. They all stayed quite, waiting for him to continue.

"Out of the 27 graduates, only nine are going to become Genins. The other 18 will be sent back to the academy. In other words, this training is going to be a very hard test with a dropout rate of 66%. " Kakashi finished, leaving the three of them shocked. Yuuki figured the rule didn't apply to her, since she never went to this 'academy' in the first place, so she didn't care much. Besides, she was sure that she'd pass.

"See? You three are surprised! " Kakashi exclaimed, laughing a bit and pointing mockingly at Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura. Naruto started complaining, rambling on about a final test and it's purpose. Kakashi explained that the final test only picked out those who were qualified to become a Genin. Naruto looked very sad and troubled.

"Anyway, " Kakashi said, "I'm going to determine whether you pass or fail tomorrow at the training grounds. Bring your ninja gear and meet at 5 A.M! "

Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura all looked kind of tense...

"Now then, meeting over. Oh yeah, and don't eat breakfast, " Kakashi said, "you're just going to throw up if you do, " Then he left - with Yuuki close behind. The other three went home, thinking about the test.

~ Time skip ~

Yuuki and Kakashi went to his home after talking with the Hokage again. Sandaime had wanted Yuuki to tell him more about herself and what she knew about, well, everything. Though Yuuki had refused to do so since, according to her, there wasn't much to tell. Kakashi and Sandaime both knew that wasn't true, and Yuuki knew that they knew, but she couldn't just tell them her entire life story either. She didn't want to remember those days and nights without any home, the loneliness eating her up until he came... She just didn't want to remember any of it.

Kakashi had taken the full responsibility of Yuuki, almost officially her father. He'd showed her around town, showed her the books store (which she'd seemed to like. Though she didn't have any money to buy a book for, and she refused to let him pay), the training grounds and everything else until darkness fell upon the village. They had then gone back to his house and Kakashi had cooked some dinner (which was surprisingly great for a Jounin who spent most of his time on missions and never had the time for real cooking).

"Sir, what kind of survival training is it? " Yuuki asked as they were sitting on the floor, eating Kakashi's homemade dinner.

"It wouldn't be a very hard test if I told you what the test was, would it? " Kakashi said and finished his meal. Yuuki finished her meal too, then they got ready for bed.

"... Are we going to compete against each other, sir? " She tried again, ignoring his comment, as she sat on the bed, wearing a top that she'd lent from Kakashi.

"Yuuki, I can't tell you, " Kakashi said firmly, trying his hardest to sound very convincing without sounding mean at the same time.

"So no. What then? Are you going to test our skills? In Ninjutsu, Genjutsu and Taijutsu. Individually or as a team? "

"No, Yuuki, go to sleep, " Kakashi sighed and lay down on his mattress. She felt bad for stealing his bed like this, in fact, she felt like she was ruining his life with her very existence, but the Jounin didn't seem to have a problem with the matter.

Yuuki looked at her father, the Jounin wasn't wearing his headband nor his west, and was therefore exposing his scar along with his anbu tattoo. She wondered what had happened, but knew better than to ask. After all, that would be rude and even though Yuuki usually had no trouble asking questions to get the needed information, she felt that she could not act like that in front of her father... she wished for her father to think of her and be proud, but she knew there could be no such thing. To him, she was just a burden - she was sure of it. Even though the male never said so, she felt as if overtime he would look at her, it would be with this sad, semi-disappointed look in his eye. Yuuki turned around, facing the wall and mumbled,

"...So yes? ...Well, I'll try to not disappoint you, sir. "

What Yuuki didn't know, was that her comment had made a certain silver haired Jounin smile in happiness, something that was very rare and hadn't happened in a very long time. Hiding his smile under his mask, Kakashi fell asleep quickly, thinking of his time in the Land of Water years ago, the time where he met Hotaru...


	3. The bell test, Naruto

Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke came to the training grounds at 5 A.M. Everyone, except Sasuke, looking very tired.

"Good morning..., " Sakura greeted sounding tired.

"Morning, " Naruto mumbled, half asleep and with salvia in the corners of his mouth.

They waited for a good forty minutes before Yuuki showed up. Both Naruto and Sakura asked why she was late, both rather rude, she didn't answer though. Instead, she jumped up in a tree and settled herself, knowing it would be awhile before Kakashi showed up. She didn't tell the others though; _I Don't want them to get suspicious..._

"How come you don't have a headband, Yuuki-san? " Naruto asked her curiously. She didn't answer that either, didn't even bother looking down at him. She closed her eyes, trying to get some sleep, and ignored the following comments and questions...

"Yeah, you can't become a Genin if you didn't pass the graduation exam! " Sakura commented bitterly. Yuuki wondered for a second what she'd done to piss off the pink haired girl, but chose to simply not care.

"Hey! You, why don't you have a headband like the rest of us do! " Naruto yelled angrily. He seemed to take the headband deal pretty serious - maybe because he almost failed at earning one?

"I'm talking to you! Did you lose it? " Naruto yelled towards her as she lazily glanced they're way through her half-closed eye.

"Did you forget it at home? "

"Why are you here anyway? " Sakura commented, again, bitterly, "we're supposed to be a three man squad, not four. What was your score anyway? Was it as bad as Naruto's, is that why you joined Sasuke-kun's team too, huh? "

"And why were you late? " Sakura added.

Sasuke, tired of their loud yelling and stupid comments, spoke with an aloof tone,

"Hey, Naruto, Sakura, don't you think she would have answered you by now if she was ever going to? Idiots, so annoying..." he growled, not looking at either of them.

Yuuki mentally thanked the Uchiha, though she felt her very center shiver as he spoke with such a familiar tone. The younger Uchiha sounded arrogant and angry, but he had the same kind of voice nonetheless... Yuuki shook off the memories, buried them with all the other crap that she had been through the past years, and hoped that she would, somehow, be able to get everything together in the end.

The main reason she was late though, was because she and her father had realized that she had no real fighting clothes fitted for survival training. So, Kakashi had taken her combat clothes shopping in the morning, and so she ended up with brand new combat clothes (Click to see)  
Even though Yuuki had weapons herself - kunai, shuriken, a katana and some other tools - Kakashi had insisted that she used Hatake Sakumo's tantō knife too. He had given it to her as a present, but after understanding the history of the weapon, she refused to keep it. She would deliver it to the male in the night, wether he liked it or not.

Twenty minutes later, and now an hour late, Kakashi greeted his students. Yuuki jumped to the ground and greeted her father with a nod. He gave her an eye-smile, as well as a nod.

"Hi fellows. Good morning." He said to the others like nothing was wrong.

"You're late! " Sakura and Naruto yelled while pointing at him angrily.

"Yes, well... a black cat crossed my path so..., " he said while pointing at the direction from which he'd come, "let's move on..., " he said awkwardly and cleared his throat. He then went to a clock, pressed it and announced,

"Alarm set to 12 PM. " Then he took out two bells from his pocket, "todays mission is to get one of these bells from me, " he said while moving the bells, making them ring.

"Whoever can't, will have no lunch, " he said and pointed at four logs placed some feet away from them, "I am going to tie you there and eat lunch in front of you, " Kakashi explained.

Sakura, Naruto, Sasuke and Yuuki all looked skeptic, upset and hungry when they realized the purpose of his 'don't eat lunch' pep-talk the other day. Luckily, Yuuki ate her snack while sitting in the tree, which had given her some strength. She also had some berries, but in truth, being hungry wasn't new to her... She'd often gone days, weeks even without eating much; it was part of the 'travel alone and with no money' concept.

"But wait, why are there only two bells? " Sakura asked.

"Since there's only two, at lest two of you will be tied to a log, " Kakashi said, smiling with his eye, "they will fail since they failed the mission. They will go back to the academy. It might just be two of you... or all four, " Kakashi said, swinging the bells again. "You can use your shuriken, " he said, "you won't be able to get these unless you ave the will to kill me. " Sakura protested, saying that it was too dangerous, to which Naruto gave a comment about Kakashi not even being able to dodge the chalk eraser. Kakashi looked bored and said, "In society, those who don't have many abilities tend to complain more. Just ignore the guy with the lowest score, " Kakashi said, referring to Naruto, who gave him an annoyed look.

"We're going to start after I say 'ready, start', " Kakashi explained, meanwhile, Naruto was still mad about the comment of his low score.

Suddenly, Naruto drew a kunai and charged at Kakashi. Then, without Sakura or Naruto being able to see what happened, Kakashi was behind Naruto with his kunai pointed towards the boy's head.

"Don't get so hasty, " Kakashi said, "I didn't even say 'start' yet. "

Both Sakura, Yuuki and Sasuke stepped back as Kakashi let go of Naruto. Sakura was in awe, since she didn't see didn't even see the Jounin move at all, Sasuke narrowed his eyes, thinking of the challenge as well. Yuuki, half proud of her father, half studying his moves, reached for her tools, ready to begin.

"But it seems you have the will to kill me now, " Kakashi said to Naruto, "I think I can finally start liking the four of you. "

"We're going to start, " Kakashi announced, "Ready... Start! " Yuuki, Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura all scattered into different directions.

 _A basic for a ninja is to conceal his presence and hide_ , Kakashi thought, _good - everyone is hiding nicely_... Just then he noticed Naruto standing out in the open, yelling, "Let's have a match, fair and square! " While looking very proud of himself.

"That idiot, " Sasuke and Yuuki whispered to themselves. Sasuke hid in a tree, Sakura under a bush and Yuuki hid in a tree as well, from where she could see the whole scene.

"Hey, aren't you a little weird compared to the rest? " Kakashi asked, looking very skeptic.

"What's weird is your hair style! " Naruto yelled and charged forward.

Kakashi reached for his bag and Naruto stopped, waiting to see what he was planning to do.

"Ninja tactic know-how number one, Taijutsu. I'll teach you that first, " he told Naruto and reached for something inside of his equipment bag. Naruto wondered if Kakashi was going to use weapons even though Taijutsu was a hand-to-hand combat - without weapons. Though, instead of a weapon, Kakashi took out a book. Flirting Paradise. Surprised and confused Naruto stopped and looked at the teacher, not quite believing his eyes.

"What's the matter? Come and get me. " Kakashi challenged.

"But, um, um, why did you take out a book? " Naruto asked, still confused.

"Why? " Kakashi asked, "I got curious as to how the story is going to develop. Don't worry about it, it's the same whether I read this or not, " he said and began reading.

Now provoked, Naruto charged forward, announcing he was going to punch him. Kakashi easily blocked his attack with his hand, which was followed by a kick, which Kakashi also dodged. Naruto tried to punch him again, but ended up punching the thin air.

"A ninja should not let the enemy get behind him multiply times, idiot, " Kakashi said from behind the boy while forming a the seal of the Tiger. _A hand sign usually used for fire attacks_ , Sasuke thought.

"Naruto run! You're going to die! " Sakura yelled from under the bush (which Yuuki thought was exceptionally stupid, since she just gave away her whereabouts).

 _And he isn't going to kill the boy, for that matter_ , Yuuki thought, rolling her eyes at the girl even though she couldn't see or hear.

Naruto looked confused towards Sakura's hiding spot.

"You're too late, " Kakashi said, "Hidden Village of Konoha's secret Taijutsu master art...! " Kakashi yelled and connected his folded fingers with the boys butt, "A Thousand Years of Pain! " After which Naruto flew through the air and landed in the lake.

 _Oh, it wasn't a Ninjutsu_..., Sakura thought, embarrassed.

 _...Two idiots_. Sasuke thought, sweat dropping.

Yuuki didn't quite know how to react... her father seemed kind of... weird?

Two shuriken came flying from the water towards Kakashi. He caught them with his fingers, without looking away from his book. Impressed by her father, Yuuki watched as a coughing Naruto came crawling out of the water.

"What's wrong?, " Kakashi asked, "you won't get any lunch if you don't get a bell by noon. "

"I already know! " Naruto shouted with a tired look on his face.

"You said you were going to exceed the Hokages, but your actions says otherwise, " Kakashi commented.

"Damn it! Damn it! I can still fight even if I'm hungry! " Naruto yelled, followed by his stomach growling. Both Sasuke and Sakura was hungry too, while Yuuki was used to being hungry, so it didn't bother her as much. Naruto, still by the lake, told himself he couldn't lose at a place like this, that he had to get a bell, no matter what. Shortly after, seven other Naruto's came up from the water. Shadow clones. Both Kakashi, Sakura, Yuuki and Sasuke were surprised by the attack.

The seven Naruto's attacked Kakashi head on while the original attacked him from behind.

"A ninja shouldn't let the enemy get behind him, right, Kakashi-sensei? " The real Naruto said, smirking. Whilst Naruto explained his actions Sakura and Sasuke both became impressed by his feint operation. Yuuki didn't quite have an opinion, but she thought it was a good idea. He wasn't able to get a bell though, because just as Naruto was about to punch Kakashi, as payback for the attack on his butt, Kakashi disappeared into a pile of smoke, leaving one of Naruto's shadow replications behind instead. So the one who got punched was Naruto himself.

"You must be Kakashi-sensei! You transformed didn't you?! You smell like Kakashi-Sensei!" Naruto yelled and pointed at the other Naruto's and soon they all started throwing punches at each other, believing the other was Kakashi-sensei. Naruto and co. finally realized that if they just undid the technique, whoever remained were the real ones, and so he released the technique, only to find himself standing alone, all beaten up by... well, himself.

 _Naruto looks so uncool_ , Sakura thought.

 _Idiot_... Yuuki simply commented in her mind.

 _That was the replacement technique, idiot_ , Sasuke thought, fighting the urge to facepalm.

Then Naruto saw one of Kakashi's bells lying on the ground,

"A bell?! He must've been in a hurry if he dropped a bell, " Naruto thought out loud with a sly smile on his face. However, when he went to pick it up, he ended up hanging from the tree in a rope.

 _A trap_ , Sasuke thought, _the Jounin showed no unguarded points, even when he was fighting with Naruto..._

"Hey! Hey! The bell! " Naruto yelled and reached pointlessly after the bell on the ground, which Kakashi came and picked up.

"Use your techniques after thinking carefully, " he said to the boy, "that's why it was used to your disadvantaged. " Naruto didn't answer.

"Oh, and..., " Kakashi eye-smiled at Naruto, "don't fall for an obvious trap, stupid. Ninjas need to think beyond the normal."

"I get it! " Naruto yelled, angrily.

"I'm telling you this because you don't get it. You think you get it, which is not the same as actually getting it. Get it? " Kakashi said, looking at the boy.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes.

"Your movements are filled with unnecessary motions... " Kakashi lectured the boy.

 _This is my change!_ _He finally dropped his guard!_ Sasuke thought and shot six shuriken at Kakashi's back. The shuriken connected with the Sensei's body and he fell onto the ground. Sakura gasped and Naruto panicked while yelling,

"He got hit! Sasuke overdid it! He killed Kakashi-sensei! "


	4. The bell test, Sakura and Sasuke

"He got hit! Sasuke overdid it! He killed Kakashi-sensei! " Naruto yelled as he panicked, still hanging from the tree.

Although before he hit the ground, Kakashi turned out to be a log.

 _Damn it, he used another replacement?_ Sasuke thought, jumping through the forest since he'd just given away his position, "he must've dropped his guard on purpose. I fell for his trap! "

 _Where is Sasuke-kun? Did Sensei already get him...?_ Sakura thought while running through the forest, trying to find him, no, that can't happen to Sasuke-kun. Sakura ran until she almost made herself visible to Kakashi, who stood not far away from where she was hiding. _I'm safe! He didn't see me..._

"Sakura, behind you, " Kakashi said from behind the girl. Sakura then screamed on the top of her lungs, scared out of her wits. Suddenly leafs were floating in the air and Sakura felt dizzy, then, as the wind stopped, Sakura noticed that she was yet again alone.

"Huh? What was that? Hey... where did Sensei go? Where?" Sakura thought out loud, "what's going on? " She panicked, looking utterly confused and searching in every direction...

"Sakura..., " she heard Sasuke's voice from behind her say. Sakura smiled and turned around,

"Sasuke-kun? " she said, smiling happily.

"Sakura..., " Sasuke said, leaning against a tree, bleeding and hit by multiply kunais and shuriken, "help me... "

Sakura froze, tears in her eyes, then screamed and finally she fainted. From above, sitting in a tree, Kakashi mumbled to himself, "maybe I overdid it, " while reading his book. "But she should have noticed if it's real or not, " he argued.

Not too far away, Sasuke stopped, thinking: _That must have been Sakura's voice..._

"Ninja tactics know-how number two, Genjutsu. Sakura fell for it so easily... " Kakashi said.

"Genjutsu, eh? No wonder Sakura fell for it, but I'm different from them, " Sasuke said.

"Why don't you say that after you get a bell, " Kakashi said and faced the raven, "Sasuke-kun. "

Kakashi stood relaxed with his book in his hand, looking at the young boy. Sasuke looked calm as well, but he was ready. Then, in the matter of seconds, he threw a pair of shuriken Kakashi's way.

"There's no use in using normal attacks, " Kakashi said, but before he knew, Sasuke had thrown a kunai, cutting the rope which released several kunais.

 _A trap?_ Kakashi thought and dodged the attack. Then, just as he landed, Sasuke appeared beside him, ready to kick him. Kakashi blocked the attack, only to block another kick, then a punch, followed by yet another kick, which he also blocked. Now bent in such a position that he was able to touch them, Sasuke reached for the bells, smirking. As Kakashi realized the boys intentions, he shot away from him, only making Sasuke able to just touch a bell.

 _What a guy, I don't have time to read Flirting Paradise_ , Kakashi thought impressed.

Meanwhile, Sakura woke up and started to search for Sasuke-kun, while Naruto was still sulking in the tree, from where he then noticed the lunch bags. He smiled slyly...

Back in the fight between Sasuke and Kakashi.

"I'll admit that you are different from Sakura and Naruto..., " Kakashi said. Sasuke didn't bother answering, instead he formed the seals for a jutsu: Serpent, Ram, Monkey, Boar, Horse, Tiger...

"Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu! " **(Fire Release: Fire Ball Jutsu)** Sasuke yelled, breathing in. Kakashi, taken aback by the attack, widened his eyes in shock.

 _What? That technique isn't something a Genin can do... He shouldn't have enough chakra!_ Kakashi thought.

Sasuke formed a tube with his hand and breathed out a giant ball of fire through his mouth. Then, as the smoke lifted, he noticed that Kakashi was gone.

 _He's gone! Is he behind me? No, above? Where is he?_ Sasuke thought, looking around.

"Beneath you, " Kakashi announced from underneath the ground as he gripped Sasuke's leg with his hand, "Doton: Shinjuuzanshu no jutsu! " **(Earth Release: Double Suicidal Decapitation Technique)**

"Ahhh! " Sasuke yelled as he got pulled down under the earth 'till only his head was free.

"This is the third ninja tactics now-how, ninjutsu." Kakashi told the raven haired boy, who currently was a head popping out of the ground. Sasuke ignored him and struggled instead, trying to get free, "how is it? Can't move, right? " Kakashi said.

"Looks like your talents are exceptional, but..., " Kakashi said, standing up, "they say that stakes that point out get driven back into the ground. "

Then Kakashi left.

"Damn it! " Sasuke growled and continued to struggle.


	5. The bell test, Yuuki

On the way towards the training grounds, Yuuki met Sakura. She was walking around, calling for Sasuke.

"Haruno. " Yuuki whispered, gaining the pinkette's attention. Sakura's apparently otherwise clueless expression immediately turned into a glare as she noticed the white-haired female sitting on a branch above her. Yuuki really didn't care how the pinkette felt about her, but she needed a partner to fight with since that was obviously the purpose of this whole exercise.

"What is it? Are you lost?" Sakura spat, disliking her tone very much. As if she new what was going on? She wasn't even a real ninja! Yuuki ignored Sakura's glare and comment (though she did momentarily consider the possibility of punching the girl... hard. She decided against it though, since her father might not be all that proud if she knocked out her teammate).

"We should team up. "

Sakura's eyes widened at the girl's suggestion; why would she team up with her? Why would she even team up with anyone (except for Sasuke-kun) in the first place?

"Why? " Sakura's eyes narrowed as she eyed the female suspiciously. Yuuki sighed, could this girl be any more clueless?

"Because that's what we're supposed to do and- " Yuuki suddenly shot a kunai in the direction of a bigger tree behind Sakura. She'd heard something, and she was certain that it was her father - why wasn't he attacking? Sakura had been wide open, and he could have shot a kunai her way...

"No way I'm teaming up with such a weirdo like you! " Sakura yelled, whereafter she ran in the direction of where Sasuke was still a head popping out of the ground... (we all know how that's going to end.)

Yuuki then hurried back to the training grounds where Naruto was still hanging from the tree, trying helplessly to reach his ninja tools - which had fallen out of his bag.

"Hey, idiot, " Yuuki said, and just as Naruto looked her way, she threw a kunai at the rope, cutting it and causing him to fall onto the ground, head first.

"Ouch! " He growled while carefully touching his head with his hands, "thanks... but did you have to do it like that? " He asked, looking at her with his ocean blue didn't answer right away... she felt as if her father could come any second and she needed to explain her plan quickly, but at the same time she needed to get it through his head too, and he wasn't exactly the smartest person on earth.

"Listen, Uzumaki, we're going to team up, you and me, and we're both going to get a bell. I have a plan, but my fa- Kakashi-Sensei, I mean, could be here any minute! You kinda just need to hide and wait until- "

"What! I'm not going to hide! I'm Uzumaki Naru- " the blond quickly protested, though he never got to finish his sentence.

"I know that, idiot, and you're not going to _hide_. You just need to stay invisible - while suppressing your chakra - and then, when there's an opening, you sneak up on Kakashi-sensei and take a bell, okay? " Yuuki explained quickly, "please, Naruto, just- he could be here any minute! "

"I don't need your help! You probably just want to show off and get all the credit! Why would I work together with you anyways? "

"Oh for gods sakes! Listen, you dimwit, this is not about credit or showing off, you already had your chance at that! No, you blockhead, I'm talking about working together as a team, not individually. Do you get it? " Naruto nodded, "Good, now go hide! "

"Alright, alright! " Naruto said and turned, though he hesitated for a second and said, " but what about you? Don't you need to get a bell too? "

"Yes, I do. And I will get one, but it won't be any fun if I'm the only one who passes this test, will it? " she asked and pointed to the trees, " now go! Wait for my signal and then attack Kakashi-Sensei! "

"But, what's your- "

"Go! "

Naruto obeyed and hid in a nearby tree from which he could see Yuuki clearly. She set up a few traps and then, suddenly, she went to stand on the water in the river that he had fallen into. But Yuuki, like, _stood_ on the water - without sinking.

Yuuki formed the seal of the Tiger and said, "Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu! " **(Water clone technique)**

Then, out of the water, came another Yuuki. One of the Yuuki's (Naruto had already forgotten which one was the original) disappeared off to somewhere, probably to hide too, although one of them stayed. Naruto couldn't believe his eyes and he was just about to yell at the visible Yuuki, asking her how the hell she was doing those fancy water tricks, when suddenly Kakashi-Sensei came into the clearing. He too, was surprised to see Yuuki on the water, although he knew what she was doing. By emitting af constant stream of chakra from her feet she'd be able to both stand, walk and fight on the water like it was solid ground - depending on her skill of course.

 _Although most Genins aren't even able to do that since they haven't learned such precise chakra control yet_ , Kakashi thought, impressed by his daughter's skills. And it wasn't just her chakra control, but she'd made a water clone too.

Clone Yuuki charged forward towards Kakashi and began the fight. Kakashi, as he had been when he'd fought Sasuke, was amazed by her taijutsu skills. She was faster than Sasuke, still, just like the Uchiha, she was only able to touch the bells briefly. Twice though, and the second time had been so close that he had just hesitated for another second, she would have gotten the hold of a bell. Kakashi was even more surprised than he had been when fighting Sasuke; the speed and precision of his daughter's movements were amazing, her taijutsu was perfect and he had absolutely _no time_ to read _Flirting Paradise_. Kakashi noticed that Naruto was hiding, though doing a very bad job concealing his chakra, in a nearby tree.

 _Why is he hiding?_ He thought, _are they working together?_

Clone Yuuki punched, kicked and jumped and Kakashi could not stop himself from smiling, under the cover of his mask, of course. The water clone forced Kakashi and their fight backwards, closer and closer to the river. Then, the real Yuuki jumped out into the clearing, released the clone and faced Kakashi while yelling,

"Hyoro no Jutsu! " **(Ice prison technique)**

In his moment of surprise, Kakashi was trapped within Yuuki's ice.

"Now, Naruto! " Yuuki yelled, hoping the blonde would be able to get a bell from the real Kakashi who was hiding in another nearby tree. Though, to her major disappointment, Naruto charged forward and snatched a bell from the frozen clone instead. As the real Kakashi undid his clone, leaving Yuuki's ice prison empty, the bell that Naruto was eagerly showing off poofed away - just like the rest of the clone.

 _Idiot! Idiot! You are such a complete and utter idiot!_ _Gaahh!_...What was Yuuki wished to yell in the boy's face, though she could not do anything but glare at him with such a death glare that he might have preferred Sasuke's instead of her's. She had some hella scary eyes when she was glaring like that...

"Wait! But! Yuuki-chan... What happened? Where'd the bell go? And where did Kakashi-Sensei go? " Naruto was confused as hell. As always.

Instead of answering, Yuuki charged in the direction of the real Kakashi, leaving Naruto to himself without a bell and with a hungry stomach. (We all know how that ends as well.)

While watching his daughter fight his clone, Kakashi had been smiling like a lunatic. Though he was smiling no more... she had used Hyoton (Ice release) and that was a Kekkei Genkai. His daughter had a Kekkei Genkai... now, Kakashi might have been happy about this if it wasn't for the fact that in the Land of Water, where Yuuki and Hotaru had lived, people with Kekkei Genkai was hunted like animals. And killed as if they were less. Hotaru had not wanted to tell Kakashi her surname, which meant she must have inherited the bloodline from her parents. Kakashi wished she'd told him... but then again, he had no idea that she was pregnant in the first place and therefore had no chance of protecting her or their child. Caught in his train of thoughts, Kakashi was ripped back to reality when he reacted from pure instinct - dodging his daughters attack as she fought with Kakashi's father's tantō knife. White chakra was released from the tantō - also known as White Light Chakra Sabre - as Yuuki swung it. Kakashi felt his heart drop a bit at the memory of his father, but in the hands of his daughter, the tantō knife no longer brought bad memories forth in the Jounin.

"So, working with Naruto didn't go well? " Kakashi asked as he dodged and dodged the numerous attacks from his daughter. She didn't answer, but she had a very visible frown on her face. Yuuki fought well with the tantō, but you could tell it was a bit too short for her liking, or maybe she was used to a katana or a sword. She was concentrated and determined to get a bell though - teamwork or not. And honestly, what kind of team was this? A lovestruck girl, a brainless idiot and an Uchiha. She could do better with three squirrels for Gods sake!

As their fight developed, Kakashi and Yuuki realized that they were pretty much equal, well, without Kakashi fighting back that was, but he had a feeling that it wouldn't change much if he did. Yuuki had touched the bells several times, but she had not managed to grab one yet. Throughout their fight, Kakashi and Yuuki had not talked much, a few comments here and there, but nothing of importance. And Yuuki knew that she lacked the will to kill Kakashi, but honestly, who would want to kill their father if they just met him? ... Even if he was a weird pervert with strange reading choices, habits of being late and covered half his face with a mask. Yeah, he seemed like a real role model. Not so much...

Suddenly Kakashi jumped into the air and above the trees, and by the time Yuuki had followed, he was gone. Yuuki could sense his chakra and it seemed that he was... retreating? But where to? Yuuki followed Kakashi in hopes of finding out what had interrupted their fight...


	6. Father and daughter moment

Turned out that the reason why Kakashi left, was because he busted Naruto just before he ate the lunch _without_ getting a bell. _What an idiot_ , Yuuki thought. She was still mad at Naruto for his failure - seriously, how can one not tell the difference between a clone and a real person? Was he even a real ninja? Yuuki had known that Naruto was dumb, but this? She'd honestly thought that he would have the decency to actually know a clone when seeing one. Ugh, and now she didn't have a bell. Because of Naruto. Well, also because of Sakura - and her big head that only had thoughts about that Uchiha - but mostly it was Naruto's fault. Gee...

Anyway, Kakashi told them they could have another chance after eating, that was if they promised not to feed Naruto - who was tied to the log and denied lunch because he had been planning to simply take it - any of their food. Kakashi also pointed out that Sakura should have paid more attention to Yuuki's offer about them working together and Sasuke shouldn't do everything on his own. Naruto as well. Kakashi complimented Yuuki on her teamwork and plan, but she should have considered Sasuke as a partner as well, since he was also a part of the team - and with quite some skill too. Yuuki didn't answer - she had her reasons. After Kakashi left, Sasuke and Yuuki were the first to brake the rule and offer Naruto a piece of their lunch, and Sakura eventually joined in. Then Kakashi appeared, a dead serious face covering his features... but it turned out Sasuke, Yuuki, Naruto and Sakura passed the Sensei's 'test'. Everyone were happy - some showing it more than others - and left the training grounds with a smile. Naruto stayed behind though, tied to the log and completely forgotten.

...

Yuuki and Kakashi walked side by side, heading home. Yuuki gave her father the Tanto knife back, explaining that she could not, by any chance, keep it:

"Please, sir, take it. I cannot possibly keep it as my own." she said after he'd taken it.

"I gave it to you as a apology for my absence, kid. Keep it. " Kakashi answered, reaching out the knife for her to take. She didn't though.

"With all due respect, sir, I really cannot. I would simply break it, or dishonor the memory of your father... " Yuuki whispered the last part. Knowing the history of her grandfather, of how he killed himself, she felt a bit uneasy at the topic.

"This knife passed down to me by my father. " Kakashi said, turning towards Yuuki. They both stopped to look at each other. "So I am now, as your father, giving it to you. Only by refusing will you bring dishonor to the memory of my father. Take it. " Kakashi said, once again reaching out the blade. This time Yuuki took it, studying the blade as if trying to find any scratches or markings that weren't there before.

She then bowed, saying, "Thank you, sir, " and hugged him.

Yuuki usually never hugged or in any other non-battle related way touched people. This was new to her, as well as it was new to her father. But somehow they figured it out, somehow, they embraced each other with such love and care, that everything that had been - all the bad memories from both of their pasts, all the bad things in life and everything else that had even the slightest negative feeling to it - all of that, vanished. There was no crying or words involved, but simply the knowledge of either of their feelings towards each other, and it made them both happy for a life time. As they separated, Yuuki gave her father a smile. A real life smile with happiness all over it, and he smiled back at her - with his eyes of course - and they continued their journey home.

Once they did get home, neither of them felt the urge to cook dinner, so they simply talked. What about, you ask? Well.. Books, hobbies, training, Naruto's failure (causing both of them to laugh) and ninken. Especially this topic caught Kakashi's interest, since he was a skilled summoner and had eight ninken in total himself.

"I have three ninken, sir. " Yuuki told her father, quite happy to have something to share with him, "three male dogs. Sho, meaning 'gold', and Kin, meaning 'to fly'. Kin and Sho are both able to use fire justus, and they often work together. They're skilled in tracking as well. Then there's Taro, 'large son', he's bigger than Kin and Sho. Taro carries a scroll, just like the other two, and he is the best tracker of them all. He's the only one able to talk though, and he is black, where the other two are different colors of brown. Taro, Kin and Sho all wear black 'capes'. The capes are mainly for protection, since they are made of a hard, but comfortable, fabric that won't be pierced by any normal kunai. They wear a forehead protector as well, though it isn't one for ninja dogs. "

Kakashi told Yuuki about his own Ninken as well. About Pakkun and the seven others, how they were great trackers as well and all wore matching outfits too. Blue though, but it was still funny how they were so much alike - him and his daughter. Kakashi and Yuuki had plenty of other similarities to their way of living, and so they talked for hours and hours, catching up for the time they never had.

"You should sleep, kid, " Kakashi said, eyeing his daughter after looking out the window, noticing that it had gone dark hours ago. Kakashi had taken off his headband, revealing his scar. Yuuki smiled, but then she remembered...

"Actually, I have something I need to do... " Kakashi raised a brow at her, saying, "at this time? Can't it wait until tomorrow? "

"It won't take more than ten minutes, I promise. "

"Alright then. I won't be here when you come back though, I have to talk with the Hokage... Goodnight. "

"Yeah, goodnight. See you tomorrow. " Yuuki said, getting up and leaving, heading in the direction of the training grounds...

~ Time skip ~

"Oi! Uzumaki! Are you there? " Yuuki said into the dark, not sure if the boy was there or not.

"YUUKI! Nee, nee, Yuuki-SAN! I'm over here! " Naruto screamed back, his voice overflowing with happiness. He had thought everyone had forgotten about him, but it seemed that his white haired teammate had come to help him after all.

"Oi, Naruto, don't you want to get down from there? " Yuuki teased as she reached the boy who was helplessly tied to the log. He pouted.

"OF COURSE I DO! " Naruto yelled back, his arms ad legs sore from hours of struggling. Yuuki cut the rope, releasing the boy.

"Arigatou, Yuuki-san. " Naruto said, grinning. Yuuki gave the blond boy a small smile as well, getting better and better at the gesture.

"'Say, Yuuki-san, do you have a place to stay? " Naruto asked curiously. He would offer her tp stay at his place if not... she did help him after all.

"... don't worry, Naruto, I'm not homeless. " Yuuki answered, not really answering his question.

"Where are you staying then? With that bastard Sasuke? Or Sakura-chan maybe? " Yuuki felt a bit uneasy with all these questions.

"Ah, no. I'm staying with Kakashi-Sensei... for a while. Goodnight, Naruto, see you tomorrow. " And with that, Yuuki left the training grounds, hurrying back home.


	7. The first C-ranked mission!

"Now then, Kakashi's Team 7's next mission is... " the Hokage said, looking at his papers, "babysitting Yojyu-sama's boy. Grocery shopping at the neighboring town. Helping dig up potatoes at- "

"No! " Naruto suddenly exclaimed, folding his arms in a big X, "no thanks to all of those! I want to do a more exciting mission! Choose something else! "

Even though Naruto was acting out of order... Sasuke kind of agreed with the dope on that one. _There's some truth to that_ , he thought, since he was also bored by the stupid missions they'd gotten lately. Sakura, tired of Nartuo's endless complaining, thought, _what a troublesome guy_ , and glared at the blond. Yuuki agreed with Naruto. She was also tired of chasing the feudal lord's wife's cat or babysitting small, noisy kids. Recently, Yuuki had done a lot of training at night instead of sleeping, because the missions they were doing weren't challenging at all. Kakashi sighed, thinking: _I knew he was going to do this soon_...

Iruka-Sensei got up, scolding Naruto for his words, saying he was still a novice ninja and that he needed experience before he could take on bigger missions. That's how it was: Everyone started at the bottom. Naruto kept complaining, though Kakashi soon stopped him by hitting the boy on the head.

"Naruto. " The Hokage said with a serious tone (when was he not serious? Yuuki wondered. ), "it looks like I need to explain to you what missions are. "

"Listen, " the old man said, "a lot of clients come to this village every day. They request things from babysitting to assassinations. On the request list, a variety of requests are listed on it and they are separated in ranks. A, B, C and D according to difficulty. In this village, we separate the people into Jounins, Chunins, and Genins according to their abilities. We higher officials assign the missions the ninja with the appropriate abilities, and if we complete the mission, we receive a fee from the client. "

"You have all become Genins just recently, so D ranked missions are best for you, " the Hokage said, showing a scroll with D-ranked missions. Yuuki could not help to notice that he referred to all of them, as if she too had recently graduated from the Konoha academy, though that was not true. Naruto wasn't listening to the lecture at all though, instead, he was wondering what to get for dinner today...

"LISTEN! " Sandaime said, glaring at the boy.

"I'm sorry, " Kakashi mumbled from beside the boy, who was still sitting on the ground. Naruto turned around, facing the Hokage.

"Ahh... you always lecture me like that, pops, " he said, "but I'm not the kid who used to pull pranks anymore! " Naruto then turned around, sulking. Kakashi, embarrassed by his subordinate, sighed and awkwardly scratched the back of his head, thinking of the scolding he had coming later... Though, it did not seem that either Iruka-Sensei or Sandaime was mad, in fact, both of them were smiling.

"Okay, I understand, " said the Hokage, gaining everyone's attention, Yuuki, Sasuke and Sakura's included, "if you insist... I will allow you to take on a C ranked mission. It's to escort a certain person. "

"Really? " Naruto asked, already excited. " Who? Who? The feudal lord? Or a princess? "

"Don't get so hasty, " the Hokage said, "I'll introduce him now. "

"Can you please com in? " The Hokage said louder, talking to someone outside the room... Everyone turned around, all excited to see the client. Although...

"What? They're all kids! " Said a drunk, old man with a rope around his head as he stepped into the room.

"Hey, is the smallest one there with the idiotic face really a ninja? " The man said, referring to Naruto sitting on the ground. Naruto laughed, until he realized that he himself was, in fact, the smallest one with the idiotic face. Kakashi had to hold him back, so that he would not punch the old man, saying, "Don't punch the man you're going to escort, idiot. "

"I am the bridge building expert Tazuna. Once I have returned to my country, I will have all of you protect my life with yours while I complete the bridge. " And with that, team 7 had received their first C rank mission.

~ Time skip ~

Yuuki, Sasuke, Sakura, Kakashi, Naruto and Tazuna all left the village shortly after that. Naruto was yelling with excitement, though no one else seemed to have the same energetic spirit as he did. And honestly, Naruto was acting like an idiotic child who was seeing the world for the first time... Which was because he had, in fact, never left the village.

"Oi, will a kid like this really be capable of this mission? " Tazuna asked, pointing at Naruto.

Kakashi laughed.

"I, a jounin, will be accompanying you. There's no need to worry... "

"Oi, Geezer! " Naruto yelled, pointing at the old man, "don't underestimate ninjas! I'm a great ninja! I'm the elite ninja who will receive the title of the Hokage one day. The name is Uzumaki Naruto. Remember it! "

Tazuna and Naruto continued to fight, and once again Kakashi had to hold Naruto back to keep him from hitting the man. Yuuki flinched, for a moment thinking that they were being watched, though neither Sasuke or Kakashi seemed to notice, so it might just have been a bird. She shrugged it of, but stayed on guard... The group continued their way through the forest - they were headed towards the Land of Waves - and while they walked, Sakura asked if there was any ninjas in the Land of Waves. Kakashi told her that, no, there weren't. Yuuki already knew that... Kakashi explained further...

"There are Five Great Ninja Powers: The Land of Fire's Hidden Village of Konoha (leaf). The Land of Water's Hidden Village of Mist. The Land of Lightning's Hidden Village of Cloud. The Land of Wind's Hidden Village of Sand. And finally the Land of Earth's Hidden Village of Rock. "

Kakashi further explained about the Kages, though both Sakura and Naruto had a hard time seeing the Hokage as one of the 'Great Five Kages'. Kakashi sensed their doubt and patted Sakura on the head, saying, "Don't worry. We won't have any ninja battles in a C ranked mission. "

Sakura sighed, relieved and said, "then there's no worry about meeting foreign ninjas. " Kakashi laughed again and the group continued their journey.


	8. Demon Brothers!

The group had walked for hours, when suddenly they passed a water puddle. Neither Sakura, Sasuke nor Naruto took any notice of it, but Kakashi briefly looked at it - Yuuki as well. They then looked at each other, nodded, and continued as if nothing was wrong. Then, only seconds later, the group was suddenly attacked by two dark clothed ninjas. Their headbands revealed that they were ninja from the Hidden Village of Mist. The two men caught Kakashi in a chain that went from one arm to the other's.

"Huh!? " Kakashi gasped, acting surprised.

Sakura gasped, "What!?" Her green eyes wide with shock.

"First one! " The ninjas yelled and pulled - tearing Kakashi into pieces of bloody flesh. Sakura screamed in horror and Naruto yelled as well, also horrorstruck. Sasuke and Yuuki both kept a cool head, focusing on the enemy. But then, as the ninjas appeared behind Naruto, saying, "Second one. ", Naruto froze in shock, only able to tremble as the Ninja approached him.

Sasuke and Yuuki eyed each other, then attacked. Sasuke threw a shuriken, nailing the ninja's chain to a tree and then a kunai to make sure it stayed there, and with that, the two men was immobilized. Naruto was still gaping, his mouth wide open as the Uchiha landed on each of the ninja's iron-covered hands. He then kicked them both in her faces, breaking the chain in the process. The ninjas quickly regained foothold, and as of them charged towards Naruto once again, the other went for Tazuna. Sakura, also frozen with shock, demanded her body to move. She finally got in front of Tazuna, yelling, "Stay back, mister! "

Sasuke looked towards Sakura, the ninja running towards her with incredible speed, though Yuuki called out, saying that she had him... And then, with no time to perform a justu or really any other option, she got in front of her pink haired teammate, ready to take the blow in her place. Yuuki narrowed her eyes, readying herself for the pain of the iron claws... though the claws never reached her. Her father had prevented it, stopping the ninja by catching his neck with his arm. The ninja gasped in pain and everyone looked up to see Kakashi - alive and well - with both enemy ninjas under his arms, unconscious. He even had a bored expression on his face, as if this was no different from chasing cats in the woods like they had done just days ago.

"Hey. " He greeted his team with his usual bored eyes.

"Kakashi-Sensei! " Sakura yelled out in happiness, "you're alive! " Sasuke's eyes twitched a bit. _What a show-off_ , he thought.

Naruto could do nothing but to look towards what should have been the remains of... but, instead of bloody flesh and body remains, pieces of wood lay on the ground. _Kakashi-Sensei used the replacement technique?_

"Naruto, " Kakashi said, turning his head to look at the boy on the ground, "sorry for not helping out right away. I got you hurt... "

"I didn't think you wouldn't be able to move. " He added, walking towards Yuuki, Sasuke and Sakura, "Anyway, Sasuke, Yuuki, good job both of you. Sakura, you too. "

Naruto was dumbfound... _I... couldn't do anything... But both Sasuke and Yuuki were able to fight in their first real battle_... Naruto looked at the white haired girl as well as at the raven haired boy. None of them were talking, they both had a rather aloof facial expression as well, and a calm attitude... Naruto was awestruck. _They weren't afraid at all_? ... _Are you saying they helped me with that calm face and without soiling their clothes at all?!_

It was true; neither Yuuki's nor Sasuke's clothes were soiled - they looked perfectly fine. Naruto couldn't believe it...

Sasuke then turned around, eyeing Naruto.

"Hey. Are you hurt... Mr. Scaredy Cat? " He said, smirking at the blond.

"... SASUKE! " Naruto yelled, furious, and about to jump at the Uchiha.

"Naruto! " Kakashi suddenly said, stopping him mid-action, "there's poison on these guys' nails. We need to take out the poison right away. "

"Huh, what? " Naruto said, sounding a bit worried, looking at his hand. The wound was bleeding...

"We have to open up your wound and leech out the poisoned blood. Don't move that much, or the poison will spread through your body... By the way, Tazuna-san..."

"W-What is it? " The man stuttered. Yuuki eyed the bridge builder suspiciously, but stayed silent and waited for her father to voice her own thoughts.

"I need to talk to you. " Kakashi said.

Kakashi had tied the enemy ninjas to a tree, and everyone stood in a half circle around them, listening as he explained: "These guys are Chunin-class ninja from the Hidden Village of Mist. They are ninja known to keep fighting no matter what the cost. "

One of the men - no one were able to tell which one since they had their mouths covered up with those odd, dark masks - spoke with a low voice, "how were you able to detect our action? "

Kakashi was about to explain further, but Yuuki beat him at it:

"Easy. It hasn't rained for days, and it's sunny today - have been all day. So a water puddle shouldn't exist, and it was therefore very obvious. You should've gone with a different method, idiot. "

"...Exactly. " Kakashi agreed, nodding. Again, he was struck by a feeling of pride - something that had happened quite frequently since he met his daughter. Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto, as well as Tazuna, all looked at Kakashi and Yuuki with wide eyes. They hadn't noticed a water puddle at all...

"Why did you let the kids fight when you knew that? " Tazuna asked the jounin, confused.

"We're not kids, Tazuna-san. " Yuuki said, looking at the man with her purple eyes. Tazuna flinched under the white haired girl's hard gaze, and looked at the jounin instead. Kakashi looked at him, also with a hard gaze, and even though it was small, Tazuna thought there was some kind of similarity to the two ninja's way of looking at him. He could just be imagining it though...

"If I was up to it, I could have killed these two in the blink of an eye, but I needed to know who the target for these two was. "

"What do you mean? " Tazuna asked, still not understanding. Yuuki sighed, and said:

"In other words, were _you_ being targeted or was it somebody from our group? "

"We have not heard anything about you being targeted by ninja. Your request was to protect you from armed groups like gangs and robbers. This is a mission that's above a B rank. Our job was to support and guard you until you completed the bridge. If ninjas are our enemy, this mission would have been an expensive B rank. " Kakashi said, looking at Tazuna, "It looks like you have your reasons, but it troubles us if you lie in your request details. This wasn't part of the mission. "

"This mission is out of our league, so... let's quit! " Sakura said simply,"we need anesthesia to take out the poisoned blood out of Naruto, too. We need to go back to the village and see a doctor! "

Yuuki mentally rolled her eyes; Haruno was such a stupid coward, she was scared out of her wits, just like that Uzumaki. Naruto held his hand loosely with the other, looking at it as if it was something strange or unfamiliar. He then turned to Kakashi, awaiting answer...

"This sure is a burden. Let's go back to the village to cure Naruto. " Kakashi said, scratching his neck.

Naruto gritted his teeth, then, suddenly, out of nowhere, he stabbed his hand with his kunai, flinching in pain as the blade went deep into his skin. Everyone looked at him in surprise. Even Yuuki hadn't seen this coming.

 _Why am I so different... Why am I always..._

"Damn it! " Naruto yelled.

"Naruto, what are you doing? " Sakura yelled, stepping forward.

"I should be stronger..." he said, his back towards the others, "I've accomplished lots of missions and I've practiced techniques every day... I'm never going to do something that will require someone to help me. I'm never going to be frightened and try to back out of things! I'm not going to lose to Sasuke. Or Yuuki-san. I vow that to this pain in my left hand. I'm going to protect the old man with this kunai! " Naruto turned around, grinning at the group. Yuuki looked at the boy, somewhat amazed by his... determination. And right then, she decided that she did, in fact, like him. Not in any romantic way, but the boy's ocean blue eyes gave off such a feeling of trustworthiness, determination and motivation that just being close to him would give her hope. She grinned as well, smiling at him with her eyes.

"The mission is still on. " Naruto said, grinning.


	9. To the Land of Waves, part one

"Naruto, " Kakashi said with his usual bored expression, "it's all good and well to rid yourself of the poisoned blood, but if you loose any more you'll bleed to death. " An awkward silence fell upon the group then, Naruto's act of bravery was now long gone and forgotten, replaced by his usual stupidity. The young boy, scared out of his wits, started shaking.

"Things will get difficult if you don't stop the bleeding... seriously. " Kakashi said, smiling with his eyes from behind the boy.

"Gah! Argh! No! No! No! I can't die like this! No! No! I don't want to die! " Naruto yelled, jumping around and waving his hand around desperately as if trying to shake it off.

"Show me your hand, Naruto... " Kakashi said, squatting. Sakura mumbled something about Naruto being very self abusive, but no one heard.

"NOOO! Hellp me! I don't want to DIE! " Naruto continued, still jumping around.

"Naruto. " Yuuki said, looking at the boy through lost strings of white hair, "Stop moving around, idiot, it's making it all worse. " With that, Naruto stood still – kind of – and let Kakashi look at his hand. The jounin's eyes widened in shock when he saw that Naruto's hand had already started healing…

"Um.. um… " Naruto said, his face pale and his body shaking with fear. "Am I okay? You look awfully serious, Sensei… "

 _Is it the power of the Kyubi?_ Kakashi thought with seriousness written all over his face. He then looked at the boy, smiled and said, "Yeah, you should be okay. " while wrapping bandages around Naruto's wound.

"Sensei? " Yuuki asked once Kakashi finished.

"Yes?"

"Do you mind if I, before the backup arrive, have a talk with the Mist ninja? I happen to know them and I have some questions which they might be able to answer…"

Kakashi looked towards the two ninjas tied to the tree and wondered just what kind of past his daughter had. Why - _how_ \- did she know two rouge ninja from the Hidden Mist? Kakashi looked Yuuki in the eyes, searching, but seriousness and calmness was all he found. He had expected something else - sorrow, maybe, or hate. But she looked very steady, reasonably calm and capable.

"Do you want me to stay? " Kakashi then asked, his voice so low that none of the others were able to hear.

"No, I'll be fine. We still have a mission to complete. Tazuna-san needs protection and with this new information about Hidden Mist Ninja being our enemy… no, it is necessary for you to stay with the others. I'll meet you on the other side of the border... sir. " Yuuki said, nodding respectfully.

"Yuuki, wait... Take Pakkun with you. " Kakashi said, summoning the small dog suddenly. As the smoke lifted, a small pug wearing a blue forehead protector with the Konoha symbol on it appeared..

"What is it, Kakashi? " Pakkun barked, looking around to identify his surroundings. Kakashi explained the situation, then said,

"Pakkun. I want you to follow and assist Yuuki. She will be staying here until the backup from Konoha arrive. "

Shortly after, the others left - leaving Yuuki and Pakkun with the two Mist Ninja.

~ Time skip ~

It was getting dark and Yuuki just finished interrogating Meizu, one of the Mist Ninja, leaving him unconscious for another hour or so. Yuuki was now pointing her slightly bloody Tanto knife at Gōzu's throat in a threatening manner. He only chuckled, saying, "they left a kid like you to interrogate us? How pathetic! "

 _Just like his brother... Foolish._

"You might want to reconsider that statement, Gōzu. " Yuuki said, squatting so that her face was closer to his. She glared at him with a professionally emotionless look while bringing the knife closer to his throat.

"W-What did you say? How do you know my name? " Gōzu demanded, his eyes wide with shock as the white-haired girl before him slowly got closer and closer.

"I know a lot about a lot of things. " Yuuki whispered, "Say, Gōzu, where is Zabuza hiding right now? " The male ninja's eyes widened with shock once again.

"Don't look so surprised. Like I said, I know a lot about a lot of things. Nothing you need to worry about. Now, tell me, or I might have to explain why only one of the famous Demon Brothers survived the battle. Nothing I can't handle though, so you might as well get talking... Your brother is fine, by the way. I didn't beat him up _that much_. "

After some time of talking - and a few cuts and bruises - Yuuki got Gōzu talking. Unfortunately, Gōzu knew nothing - just like his brother, Meizu. _Zabuza, as secretive as always, huh?_ Yuuki thought, _and what about you, Haku, where are you hiding? Are you still protecting Zabuza?_

"Yuuki-san, the backup will arrive soon. " Pakkun barked from above her, "you need to hurry if you don't want any trouble. They're not far away."

Pakkun was not sure how or what he should think of Yuuki. She seemed... well, different. Different from Kakashi's other students, but also genuinely different at heart. Not to mention her rather violent and scary method of getting people to talk. That girl certainly knew her way around a knife, as well as how to use it very creatively, and Pakkun feared that she might've learned this from earlier experiences... he shuddered, trying to shake the feeling off.

"Hai, I am finished here anyway. Do you have the note? We'll leave it here for the backup. Let's go, Pakkun. " Yuuki answered, standing up and heading the same way that her father and the others had done so when the sun had been awake still.


	10. To the Land of Waves, part two

"Yuuki-san," Pakkun suddenly said after hours of silence, "how come you knew those two rouge ninja from the Mist? " They had been jumping through the woods nonstop for nearly five hours, and though none of them were tired, they hadn't talked at all.

"Does it matter? " Yuuki answered harshly. She knew there was no point in playing dumb; Pakkun was her father's ninken after all and even though he was a dog, he had the intelligence like that of a man. When Pakkun didn't answer, Yuuki simply kept her eyes on the trees ahead of her, trying her best not to look at the pug. Though, as the time went by, Yuuki felt the knot in her stomach grow even bigger by the second.

"I... Don't like to talk about it. " She said after some time, her voice more vulnerable than usual, "please don't bring it up again, Pakkun. " Even though her face showed no sign of it, Yuuki was slowly drowning with memories. Most of them ones she would like to forget.

 _Placed in a small hut within the forest near the river that ran through the Land of Water was a small child. With silvery-white hair and eyes like any other, she was feared and banished from the village. Once a day, someone - usually old women - from the village would go see the child. They would feed her and take care of her, but never like a mother. No, the child's mother had been murdered one year after giving birth to the child by the exact same people who had placed her so far away from the village, believing - hoping, even - that the wild animals would dispose of her._

 _For four years, the villagers would send their elders to care of the child - keeping her alive, but lonely. And never would they hide the fact that none of them, not even the caretakers, liked her. In fact, they would ever so often tell her tales of why she was a monster, a misfit, someone who was better off dead. The child, nicknamed The White Demon, grew up believing that she was abandoned by her mother because she was a monster, that she had no place within this world and that she, if she wanted to do the right thing, should kill herself. The caretakers stopped coming when she was five years old - the villagers had decided that they would no longer waste energy on such monster, that she could starve to death for all they cared. Little did they know, for a man even more feared than her, a man called Zabuza Momochi, found the girl and took her with him._

"Yuuki-san. " It was Pakkun's voice that snapped her out of it.

"Hai, Pakkun. What is it? " Yuuki answered, still jumping through the woods with the small dog behind her.

"We should reach the border soon. If I am correct, Kakashi and the others have already reached the other side. According to the plan, we will meet them once we get there. It will not take long since we are traveling by foot. "

Yuuki nodded, signalizing that she heard everything he had said. They reached the border soon after that and set off across the water, but of them running on the water as if it was a hard surface. Once they reached the Land of Waves, Yuuki discovered that her father and the others were nowhere to be found.

"They must have gone to Tazuna-san's place... " Yuuki though out loud, "Pakkun. "

"Hai, Yuuki-san? "

"Thank you for assisting me. I will find my father and the others from here." And with that, Yuuki left. Pakkun sighed and disappeared with a 'poof'.

~ Meanwhile ~

Kakashi and the others were headed towards Tazuna's house, Naruto, wanting to be cool, almost killed a white rabbit when suddenly they were attacked.

"Everyone, get down! " Kakashi yelled, avoiding the sword that came flying through the air. Once everyone got up, they noticed a man standing on the sword which was now caught in a tree. Naruto, eager to prove his worth and not lose to Sasuke, looked at the man with his blue eyes.

"Oh, my, my, you are Momochi Zabuza, the exiled ninja of the Hidden Village of Mist. " Despite the tense situation, Kakashi spoke with a cheerful and carefree voice as he took a step forward towards the man, Zabuza.

 _Exiled ninja?_ Naruto thought, momentarily doubting the sitaution, but then, _who cares, I won't loose to Sasuke. One, two, three... now!_ But just as he charged forward, Kakashi held a hand out to stop him, saying, "You're in the way. Stay back, everyone. "

"WHY?! " Naruto yelled, annoyed.

"He's way different from the guys we met before. If he's our enemy..." Kakashi said with a serious tone, his hand ready to lift his headband, "I can't win like this. "

"I'm guessing you are Kakashi the Sharingan user. " Zabuza said with a low voice. Sasuke flinched, what was this about? Sharingan?

"I'm sorry, " Zabuza said, "but I'll need you to hand over the geezer. "

Silence fell upon the group, Naruto wondered just what Sharingan was? Sakura felt scared; was this man really strong?

"Everyone, " Kakashi said, "form the swastika formation. Protect Tazuna-san. Don't join the battle. "

"Eh? " Sakura's voice was thin with fear.

"To not interfere with the battle is teamwork. " Kakashi finished, then he lifted his headband, showing a scared, red eye.

 _What's that eye?_ Naruto, who was standing besides Kakashi, wondered, his own eyes wide with shock.

"Oh? I'm honored that I can see the sharingan that I've heard so much about. " Zabuza said, turning around so that he was no longer standing with his back to the group.

"You guys have been saying Sharingan, Sharingan - but what is it? " Naruto asked, annoyed that he didn't know what was going on.

"Sharingan... " Sasuke said, "the eyes creates it, and it is the power that the pupil generates. Ones who use doujutsu are said to have eye powers that can see through all genjutsu, taijutsu and ninjutsu, and cancel their effects. Sharingan is one of the various types of eyes that those doujutsu users possesses. "

"But that's not the only ability the Sharingan possesses. " Sasuke finished.

"Correct. It isn't. " Said Zabuza. "The scary part is that Sharingan can understand how an opponents technique works, and copy it. " Suddenly, mist started to appear, making it difficult to see.

"When I was in the Hidden Mist's assassination squad, your information was listed in the bingo book I carried, asking for your capture. It also noted this... The man who copied more than 1000 techniques, Kakashi the Copy Ninja. "

 _What? Kakashi-Sensei is that great of a ninja?_ Sakura somehow felt very shocked.

"WOW! " Naruto, who had no ability whatsoever to read the situation, yelled in a fangirl-like way. Sasuke, on the other hand, was not impressed.  
 _I don't understand... Sharingan is a special trait that appears in only a limited amount of people in the Uchiha clan. Could he be...?!_

Before Sasuke had the time to ask or think further into the matter, Zabuza's voice cut through the air, "let's cut the chit-chat here. I have to kill that geezer right away! " Tazuna's eyes widened, though before he could react, Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura were creating a somewhat circle around him while Kakashi stood in front of them all.

"But, Kakashi, it seems I have to defeat you first. " In the blink of an eye, Zabuza was suddenly standing on the river not far away.

"He's there! " Naruto said, looking towards the river.

"And he's standing on top of the water...? " Sakura thought outloud, her eyes wide.

Zabuza was, indeed, standing on top of the water. His right arm was pointing towards the sky while his left arm was bended, both of his hands forming some the seal of confrontation.

"Suiton: Kirigakure no Jutsu. " **Water release: Hidden Mist Jutsu**

And with that, Zabuza disappeared.


	11. Memories

Yuuki had a bad feeling about this; something was bound to go wrong. She understood that Tazuna-san must have wanted - maybe even demanded - that the others would bring him home immediately after reaching the island, but what about The Demon Brothers? _It has to be the work of Gato_ , Yuuki thought. And if he was involved, well, then Zabuza and Haku couldn't be far away. Though somehow Yuuki had mixed feelings about the possibility of seeing those two again...

 _"Zabuza-sama! There's someone in here! " Haku rushed over to the child - a girl, it seemed, not much younger than himself - lying on the floor, her shining white hair scattered across the wooden floor. She was unconscious and when Haku moved her body so that she was lying on her back, he saw that an icy spear had impaled her stomach. Blood stained the ragged pieces of clothes that she was wearing and Haku immediately checked for a pulse._

 _"Zabuza-sama! She's still alive! Quick, we must help her! " Haku said as the man walked in to see what the boy was yelling about._

 _"A girl? " He mumbled, mostly to himself, then, after studying her small figure for a second, he grabbed the boy by his small shoulder, saying, "leave her be, Haku. She's of no use to us. "_

 _"But sir, I think she might be. Look, she's like me...! " The young boy exclaimed, pointing franticly at something across the room. As the former Mist ninja looked, he saw that the room had been ruined completely by spears and spiky lumps of ice - ones like the one that had injured the girl. In addition, it seemed that an old woman had been killed by the same ice. Soon, Zabuza realized that this girl must have inherited the same Kekkei Genkai as Haku thus being able to use Hyōton*, meaning that she would make a good tool like Haku._

 _"Haku, go find some bandages in my bag, " Zabuza commanded the young boy, who left immediately to do so, and kneeled by the girl. Zabuza healed the girl's wound and waited for her to regain consciousness. After a couple of hours, she woke up, believing that she had died and was now in hell._

 _"You shouldn't have saved me, sir," she said when Zabuza explained that she was still alive, "I'm a monster... why? Why did you do it? Why didn't you just let me die like I was supposed to... I'm a monster... it was the right thing to do... they told me I should... they said- why did you save me, sir? Why would you do such thing? I'm a demon... " the girl kept mumbling such things while covering her eyes with her small hands._

 _"Who are you, child?" Zabuza asked the girl who still refused to look into his eyes._

 _"... They call me Shiroi Akuma, sir... I'm Shiroi Akuma - I'm a monster... "_

 _"My name is Momochi Zabuza. What is your name? "_

 _"..." The girl went silent as she folded her hands around her legs, placing her head on top of her knees. She looked forward, but strings of white hair covered her eyes and prevented Zabuza to look at her._

 _"You don't have one? " He asked._

 _"Yes, sir, I do, but... I'm not supposed to tell you. They told me to kill myself - to get rid of the curse. It's the only way... " the girl whispered, finally looking at Zabuza with serious a serious look. The ninja's eyes widened when he saw her eyes - at first, he'd mistaken it for Rinnegang, though he realized that the girl simply had purple eyes. It wasn't Rinnegang. Zabuza would have wanted the girl even more if she had possessed such eyes, though the Kekkei Genkai that her and Haku shared was indeed something worth collecting._

 _"Curse? " Zabuza questioned her._

 _"The ice, sir. I can't... I can't control it very well. It's... it's_ **demonic** _, they said._ _ **Evil**_ _. "_

 _"So it was you who created this ice? You killed that woman? " Zabuza asked, gesturing towards the deadly chaos of icy spears and spikes that covered the other part of the small room._

 _"...Y-Yes, that was me, but it was an accident - I swear! I didn't mean to! I really didn't mean to... you have to believe me, sir- " The girl said franticly, her eyes watery._

 _"Calm down, I believe you. Now, tell me your name. "_

 _"Yuuki, sir. Hosokoori Yuuki. "_

 _"Yuuki... Very well, Yuuki, come with me. I will teach you how to control this demonic ice within you."_

 _"C-Control it, sir? Is... is that possible? " But Zabuza had already left the room. Yuuki hurried out the door and was faced with a green forest and bright blue sky. Never in her entire life had she been allowed to walk out that door and now that she had, she felt scared - unsafe. But a feeling of freedom struck her as well. She cried, not knowing exactly what for, but it felt like the right think to do._

 _"...Are you okay? My name is Haku, but you can call me brother if you want - we are related after all. " A voice suddenly said behind her. Yuuki gasped and quickly covered her eyes - a habit. Haku chuckled a bit at her shyness._

 _"It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you or anything. I'm with Zabuza-sama. "_

 _"I'm not scared, " Yuuki said defiantly, quickly wiping away the tears, though she continued to hide her face and refused to look at the boy whose name was Haku._

 _"Then why are you covering your face like that? " Haku asked gently._

 _"I... People don't like it when they can see my eyes. Aya-san always told me to cover my eyes before she entered... " Yuuki explained, still covering her eyes with her hands. Though suddenly the boy had grabbed her hands and gently removed them saying, "It's okay, I don't mind. "_

 _Not used to being touched, Yuuki smiled and blushed at the gesture. The boy, Haku, had big, brown eyes - very gentle-looking - and long, black hair. He looked nice, Yuuki thought, not at all rude or abusive like Makoto-san or Susumu-san - the people who had taken care of her up until yesterday._

 _"What's your name? " Haku asked, smiling._

 _"Yuuki. " She said, looking at her bare feet._

 _"Like snow? " Yuuki nodded yes and Haku pointed out that they should follow Zabuza-sama before he got too far away. The two children chatted while following the man ahead of them, both happy to have found a friend - a sibling._

 _As time went by, Haku and Yuuki grew to become great tools for Zabuza. Haku, whose speed and precision was unbelievable, and Yuuki, who was, despite her young age, a skilled and talented assassin, spent all their free time on training. Both of them, despite the small age difference, enjoyed each other's company and they often trained all day as well as night. Zabuza seemed pleased with their efforts as well; they were both exceptional ninjas. Well, neither of them had actually graduated from any academy, but they both exceeded the level of Chūnin by far._

 _It wasn't until a year after their meeting that Yuuki told Zabuza and Haku why she'd killed that old woman:_

 _"It was an accident; I didn't know how to control the ice back then..., " Yuuki sighed, "Her name was Yasu. I didn't know her - for some reason it wasn't one of the usual caretakers. I didn't mind though; Yasu-san was nice to me. She came the day before you found me. But even though she was nice, she was just as scared of me than any of the other villagers. I-I guess she knew what would happen... Yasu-san came in and asked me to sit down; she wanted to tell me something. She was shaking at this point, I remember asking her what was wrong and all she did was look at me with wide eyes. She told me... "_

 _Even though Zabuza had told her that a ninja didn't need emotions, Yuuki's eyes watered as she whispered,_

 _"She told me about my mom. Hosokoori Hotaru - that was her name. Yasu-san told me that a year after giving birth to me, my mother was killed. She was deeply hated and feared by the villagers - everybody treated her like some kind of dangerous animal... Yasu-san also told me that... that the villagers killed my mom. That they hired an assassin to kill her... "_

 _Zabuza and Haku both stayed quiet, waiting for her to continue. Yuuki's eyes had darkened a bit when she spoke again, her voice low though still audible,_

 _"I don't remember much after that - it was all a blur. Rage, sorrow, anger, sadness, hate... I remember someone screaming, but I'm not sure if it was me or Yasu-san. My heart was being ripped out and torn to pieces, destroyed. Suddenly, everything was very dark and cold... I guess, I must've killed Yasu-san during that time. I'm not sure. I had curled up, letting all the darkness consume me, all the self-hate and anger - I let it all in. And then I remembered what Yasu-san had told me: The villagers had killed my mom because she was cursed. She was cursed with uncontrollable and deadly ice, destined to kill everything in her path - just like I was. Yasu-san explained that it was for the best. That now my mother was saved, free from the curse. Death is the only escape, that's what she said. Death is the only escape. "_

 _"So you tried to kill yourself? " Haku asked, his voice thick with sadness._

 _"Hai. I tried to kill myself. I figured, if I didn't want to live anyway and death was the only way to get rid of the curse... well, it seemed like the right thing to do. You must have found me shortly after that... "_

 _Haku, completely consumed by the haunted look in Yuuki's eyes, went silent. Zabuza, on the other hand, had just discovered a rather unpleasant truth - which he decided to keep to himself - and wanted to change the subject._

 _"Yuuki. " He said, his voice casual, but full of authority._

 _"Yes, sir? " Yuuki, knowing better than to cry in front of the man, quickly wiped her slightly wet eyes with the back of her folded hand._

 _"Don't bring that up again. Haven't I told you? A ninja doesn't need emotions. Forget about your mom and get to work - I have a mission for you. "_

 _And just like that, Yuuki never spoke of her mother again._

 **A/N: Finally a peek at Yuuki's past, aye? Zabuza is being his usual self - awesome as hell, of course, but bluntly emotionless - and Haku is SO SWEET! ;P I totally love those two! I hope you enjoyed the chapter - write in the comments what you think, please, that always makes me happy.**

 **Okie-dokie! Before you go on to the next chapter, please read this to completely understand Haku and Yuuki's family relation:**

The Hosokoori Clan lived in Kirigakure. The clan is best known for its Kekkei Genkai - the ability to manipulate and create ice. This bloodline technique was created when the first Hosokoori married and had children with his Yuki-onna wife. After the Third Great Ninja War ended, memories of the horrific battles still lingered in the minds of the people in Kirigakure. Because those with kekkei genkai were feared, the Hosokoori clan disbanded to protect its members from angry villagers.

 **Btw, Haku is from the Yuki Clan and Yuuki is from the Hosokoori Clan. Meaning that the two of them are related, but it's distantly. Also, if you didn't know, Hyōton means Ice Release. :D**


	12. Shiroi Akuma

_"Y-You're Shiroi Akuma...! " The man gasped, his voice filled with fear as he franticly sent forth his five bodyguards. He watched in horror as the white-haired girl, whose face was covered with a frightening white and red mask, the face resembling that of an angry, demonic cat, killed three of the men in a flash. The girl, whom he thought looked very young (ten or eleven years maybe), moved with unbelievable speed and agility. The two remaining guards, both skilled sword-fighters, looked at each other and charged at the little girl. Her clothes, decorated with two blood-red patterns resembling two snowflakes, remained white even as her katana was stained with the blood of the two guards.  
_

 _"Please, I beg of you, have mercy! Please! " The man cried out, his hands held in front of his face in a desperate attempt to protect himself. The girl approached the cowering man, her sword pointed towards him.  
_

 _"I can give you money! Please! Take everything I have - take my money! PLEASE! "  
_

 _"I do not want your money. " The girl said, her voice emotionless and cold.  
_

 _"Then what do you want?! "  
_

 _"A confession. " She said, squatting before the trembling man, her katana at his throat.  
_

 _"W-What? I don't understand! Please, don't kill me...! " He gasped, shaking with fear. Tired of his talking, the girl moved her katana away from his throat, allowing him to talk without the sword cutting his skin.  
_

 _"Confess. " She demanded, tilting her head in a sudden movement.  
_

 _"I-I don't- ARRHG! " Before he could finish his sentence, she had stabbed his shoulder with the blade, managing not to stain her own white clothes with the man's blood.  
_

 _"Confess! " She hissed, moving the blade upwards. The man screamed in pain and cried to himself, his breaths short and ragged.  
_

 _"You killed a woman named Hosokoori Hotaru! You hired an assassin! Confess your sin and I shall release you from the pain! " The girl said, talking over the screaming and crying from the man.  
_

 _"I did not! I swear! Please! " But the girl was unreasonable and would not listen to his excuses, instead she tore out the blade - causing him to gasp in pain - and cut off the his hand.  
_

 _"I will cut off a limp for every lie you utter. Do you hear? I killed your bodyguards and I will not hesitate to kill you. Tell me the truth, murderous thief. "  
_

 _"A thief I am, yes! But I swear on the life of my daughter that I never killed that woman! I am no murder! You have to believe me! "  
_

 _"On the life of your daughter, you say? Let's ask her, then. " The masked girl hissed, disappearing into the other room. A sudden scream filled the air and seconds later, the girl came through the door, dragging a crying child by the hair. She threw the crying girl onto the floor, kneeled behind her and held her katana to the child's throat, saying, "Confess your sin or your daughter will have to pay the price. "  
_

 _"No! NO! Wait! I'll confess! It was me - I hired the assassin. I-I'm sorry, just, don't hurt her. "  
_

 _"I want a name! What was the assassin's name! " The masked girl yelled fiercely, slightly cutting the child's skin, causing the small girl to scream in pain and cry out her father's name in a attempt to get help.  
_

 _"STOP! PLEASE - STOP! I don't know the assassins name- no, wait, don't hurt her! I know the employer's name…! " The man cried as she was about to kill his daughter, though his words made her stop.  
_

 _"His name is Gato. That's all I know, I swear… " he croaked out, still crying. The masked girl considered his words and decided that the possibility of him lying was slim considering the circumstances.  
_

 _"Very well, I believe you, " she said, allowing the child to rush to her father, "but I will be back if I discover that you lied to me, understand? And I will not be as merciful as I have been tonight. "  
_

 _"Yes, of course. " The man answered even though he had a hard time seeing how she had been merciful during the night's event. He looked at his daughter then, wiped away her tears and whispered comforting words, but when he was about to say something to his masked attacker, she was gone.  
_

 _That night Yuuki discovered something horrible: Her mother's killer was hired by Gato. Same night, Yuuki visited Gato in his hideout. She easily took care of his guards and with them out of the way, Gato just seemed like a grumpy old man with too much money and a bad haircut. Due to her mask, Gato didn't recognize her.  
_

 _"W-Who are you?! " He hissed angrily.  
_

 _"Who killed Hosokoori Hotaru? " This was no time for games.  
_

 _"I don't know what you're- " before he could finished his sentence, Yuuki had placed her katana at the tip of his nose, drawing a drop of blood._

 _"Tell me or I will- "  
_

 _"Or you will what? " He said defiantly.  
_

 _"Or I will penetrate your skull right this instance. " Yuuki said with a serious tone, meaning her every word. Gato shivered in fear, not liking the way she spoke so seriously about it.  
_

 _"R-Right. Calm down, now; I-I'll tell you. It was the people from a smaller village near the river that runs through the Land of water who hired him. They offered good money and- "  
_

 _"I want a name. " She whispered, her patience already running thin with the old man._

 _"Y-Yes, of course. Momochi Zabuza is the assassin I assigned the mission. "  
_

 _"… Momochi Zabuza? … Are you sure? " Yuuki asked, having a hard time keeping her emotions at bay.  
_

 _"Yes, I am and now I demand that you tell me who you are or- "  
_

 _"Or you'll call for your extra guards? Sorry, but they're all dead. " And with that statement, Yuuki disappeared into the night with no evidence of her ever being there except the several dead guardsmen.  
_

 _For the first time in six years, Yuuki questioned whether or not joining Zabuza-sama and Haku was the right thing to do? Of course, Zabuza and Haku had given her a home, a sort of family to care for the past years, but this changed everything. Zabua had… **killed** her mother. That must be why he didn't want to talk about it, Yuuki thought, realizing how stupid she had been. Honestly, she didn't know how or what to feel. She loved Haku as a brother and Zabuza… well, he hadn't been a father to her, but something like a Sensei. Someone who pushed her further and further, even though she didn't think it was possible. _

_It was due to him that she was so skilled with a sword, mastered the silent killing almost as well as he did, knew how to control and use the demonic ice within her and, of course, it was all because of him that she was alive in the first place.  
_

 _But the feelings that raged within her now darkened her heart, filled it with hate and sorrow – just like that time with Yasu-san – and as Yuuki jumped through the night, tears rolling down her cheeks, she wanted nothing but to get as far away from them as possible. She knew that her overwhelming desire to kill the man was pointless; he was Momochi Zabuza after all, but at least she could refuse to help him any more. However, she really would like to see him dead... No. She owed him her life. This - not killing him - would free her from that commitment. She was free. Free to do anything, actually. Struck with a feeling hopelessness and pointlessness, Yuuki decided to spent the night in a tree since the day's event had made her very tired. The next day, however, Yuuki woke up in a cold dungeon._

A/N: BAM! Cliffhanger! I fixed the chapter! I don't know what happened last time? SORRY. Anyway, the reason this is all in cursive is because it's kind of a flashback from Yuuki's past! The actual story will continue in normal writing :D That way it all makes sense, right? Comment what you thin and once again, SORRY about whatever happened earlier. IDK?

Shiroi Akuma = White Demon


	13. Those eyes

_Yuuki rushed to stand up, but realized that she was chained to the wall, in addition, she was almost out of chakra - most likely due to the chains, she guessed. Struggling seemed pointless; the chains wouldn't budge even the slightest. Suddenly, a noise came from within the dark around her._

 _"Who's there? " She said, listening for a breath, a heartbeat -_ anything _. No one answered, but a pair of blood-red eyes appeared. Suddenly, the eyes widened, changed form and everything around her vanished. Yuuki gasped, the sudden change of setting had shocked her - she was no longer chained to a wall, but was now placed on a wooden cross. The sky contained a red moon which casted a red light throughout the place while everything else - such as herself and the cross - seemed to be colored in an inverted gray scale. A man, the one carrying those intimidating eyes (which were no longer red, but white due to the change in color), appeared before her._

 _"Who are you? " Yuuki demanded._

 _"My name is Uchiha Itachi. " The man said, speaking in a very calm and superior manner._

 _"I don't know you. " Yuuki said, "I don't have any information either. "_

 _"Lying is pointless, Hosokoori Yuuki. Don't waste my time. " Suddenly, there were not only one, but hundred men standing around her. They all held a sword - her katana, in fact, the one she'd gotten from Zabuza - and Yuuki watched helplessly as they all approached her._

 _"Your mother, Hosokoori Hotaru, how is she? " The man, Itachi, asked, still with a calm voice. Yuuki didn't know what to say - how did he know all of this? Though one thing was sure: The mention of her mother made her heart crumble with regret and her blood boil with anger._

 _"Dead. " Yuuki said simply, hoping to get a reaction out of him, though, to her disappointment, he didn't even blink._

 _"Unfortunate, " Itachi said, his voice emotionless, "I am sorry to hear that such fate have come upon her. I truly wished for Hotaru to live a long life, but of course, a life lived in fear may not be a life worth living at all... "_

 _Yuuki folded her hands into fists, she felt her every fiber burn with anger. Who was this Uchiha Itachi and how dared he speak so calmly about her mother's death? Yuuki glared at him, her purple eyes darkening with instant hate towards the man, and struggled against the chains._

 _"Struggling is pointless; you cannot escape this world. "_

 _"Where the hell are we? " Yuuki hissed, tired of the games._

 _"This is Tsukuyomi, a world created with my Sharingan. A world where time is endless and escaping is impossible. " Yuuki felt as if she'd heard that word - Sharingan - before. Something inside of her froze as she realized..._

 _"It's a Genjutsu. We're in my head. " She mumbled, mostly to herself. Yuuki tried to release the Jutsu, escape the illusion, though her attempts were all in vain._

 _"Yes. How did you figure? Well, it is of no matter; now that you know, we can begin the interrogation. Hatake Kakashi. What do you now about him? Choose your answer wisely."_

 _Yuuki's blood froze at the mention of the name. She remembered now. She remembered Yasu-san's story of the ninja from Konohagakure - Hatake Kakashi - and his mission in the Land of Water. Hatake Kakashi, leader of an Anbu team and known as 'the man who has copied over a thousand techniques' and, of course, also less commonly known as her father. Yasu-san, who had been the one to send a message to the Hokage, told Yuuki the story of her mother and father's meeting. It wasn't a romantic story, though, and it didn't end well; Kakashi had been forced to leave Hotaru, without knowing of her pregnancy, and return to Konoha with his teammates._

 _This man, this Uchiha Itachi, wanted information - which she had - about her father. Yuuki was sure that if she were to refuse, Itachi would torture her until she broke. And even though it would all be in her mind, she knew that the consequences would be devastating. Even so, Yuuki glared at the Itachi in front of her - ignoring the hundred others - and whispered with a very serious tone,_

 _"Go to hell. "_

 _Itachi's eyes widened and his facial expression settled on what Yuuki would call a frown - though with a hint of surprise. Without further warning, he stabbed her. Yuuki screamed in pain, but refused to talk. Repeatedly, all of the Itachi's stabbed her and even though Yuuki knew the pain wasn't real, it felt very much so._

 _"Time is endless in this world of mine, Hosokoori Yuuki - or rather, Hatake Yuuki. A mere second in the real world will feel like days and I have nothing but time on my hands. Maybe, after 60 days of constant torture, you will talk more about your dear father then? "_

 _And then the torture began. Screams, blood and tears was all Itachi got out of her though. Even so, Yuuki knew she had to do something. She searched her mind for any kind of loop hole, any technique which could allow her to suffer less damage. She knew that escaping the Genjutsu was impossible unless she was released by Itachi himself, which, of course, was bound to happen at some point, but she knew that waiting for such thing to happen would ruin her physiologically in such way that survival would seem impossible. Instead, she had to find a way to avoid or seal away the damage. If that was even possible..._

 _Yuuki was tortured day and night - though, of course, in the world of Tsukuyomi, there was no day and night; it was an endless sky decorated with the red moon - and she was going insane. She wanted to die, she wished for the pain to just... stop. But even so, she told Itachi nothing. She felt that, even if she had never met him, she had a responsibility to her father. In reality, she didn't know much about him. Well, nothing personal anyways. She had heard of him though; Zabuza had once mentioned a 'Copy Ninja Kakashi' whom he had read about in his bingo book. From what Zabuza had told her, her father was quite skilled. Yuuki was proud, somehow, to have such skilled father, but also sad that she knew nothing about him. What kind of person was he? What did he look like? Did he ever marry again? Did he... did he miss Hotaru? Basically, she knew nothing about him at all._

 _"Have you reconsidered? Will you talk now? " Itachi asked, his voice as calm as it had been the last time. Yuuki knew she should say something; it would be better, it would save her from a lot of pain, but she didn't. She stayed quiet, her head hanging loosely from her neck, as if she was already dead - she wished she was - and her body was lifeless and numb. Itachi stabbed her again and the pain felt as real and horrible as it had the first time. Would she be able to withstand this any longer? Another 60 days? Yuuki doubted it._

 _To her relief - and major surprise - the Genjutsu was released before she went completely insane. Itachi was, however, very surprised that her mind was still intact. How, he wondered, was it that she was able to speak? Because speak she did; with closed eyes (figuring that he needed eye-contact to be able to perform the Genjustu) Yuuki spoke to him with poorly hidden fear filling her voice:_

 _"Why are you doing this? I don't know you, but you seem to think that you know a lot about me - how? Who are you working for? What do you want from me? "_

 _While under his Genjutsu, Yuuki had been struggling against the chains in real life. Her wrists were bruised from the pressure and slightly bloody, but she didn't care; somehow, a bruise on her wrist seemed like nothing compared to what she had outlived in Itachi's Genjutsu..._

 _"I won't answer any of your questions if you don't answer mine. " Yuuki lied, knowing that she wouldn't answer his questions no matter what. Not after what he had done to her._

 _"Akatsuki. " Said Itachi, his face hidden within the shadows._

 _"What? "_

 _"Akatsuki. You asked who I worked for and now you know. "_

 _"And? What do you want from me? How do you even know my mother's name? "_

 _A long time of deafening silence filled the room and Yuuki sensed that Itachi was debatting wether or not to answer her question. He did, however, but his answer raised more questions than it answered..._

 _"I've met her. " Itachi said._

 **A/N: Please comment what you think? I'm sorry, I know the story is coming along slow on this website, but I am just really busy with a lot of other stuff and I have just started a new story on Quotev. Sorry, guys! I will try and update faster, but no promises~**


	14. Tree climbing practice

"Excuse me, do you know where I can find Mr. Tazuna?" Yuuki asked a middleaged woman who was sitting outside a small shop. The woman nodded her head yes and gave Yuuki instructions as to where Tazuna lived, though she must've given her the wrong directions, because Yuuki ended up knocking on several doors until she finally arrived at the house she believed to be Tazuna's an hour later. Yuuki knocked on the door, hoping to see a familiar face, but instead of her father, Tazuna-san or a team member, a young woman with black hair opened the door. Yuuki internally sighed deeply.

"Yes?" The woman said, a questioning, yet very friendly look on her face.

"My name is Yuuki. I am looking for a man named Tazuna?" Yuuki said, her voice slightly irritated since she expected that she had gotten the wrong directions - _again_. But instead of giving new directions, the woman smiled and exclaimed, "Ah, Yuuki-san! Kakashi mentioned you - you're a member of the Konoha team, I am correct?"

"Hai." Yuuki answered, offering the woman a small nod. She smiled again and led Yuuki inside, saying, "Well, come on in then. My name is Tsunami, I'm Tazuna's daughter. You're teammates have been waiting for you..."

And sure enough, there, sitting on the floor, were Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke. The three of them surrounded Kakashi who was laying on the floor, covered in a blanket. As soon as Yuuki stepped into the room Naruto rushed over to hug her, yelling "Yuuki-san~!"

Not appreciating the gesture, Yuuki forcefully maintained an arms length between herself and the blue-eyed male. Naruto pouted, but quickly remembered that he actually had a lot to tell Yuuki:

"Yuuki-chan! You won't believe what happen! We were attacked by-"

"-by Momochi Zabuza, a rouge ninja. I know, Naruto." Yuuki interrupted, turning her head towards her father, "What happened?" She demanded, looking at his still figure. He had his usual bored expression, but with that mask on it really was difficult to tell what he was thinking. Yuuki, however, knew that he was anything but bored.

"How did it go?" Kakashi asked while eye-smiling, changing the subject completely. Yuuki felt weird with her teammates being this close without knowing about her and her fathers real relationship and although it wasn't her first time keeping a secret - far from - she couldn't help but to feel limited in her way of communicating with her father while they were there. She ignored it, though, and repeated her question: "What happened? I know Zabuza caused this..." She said, glancing at her fathers injured body.

"Yes, but he's gone now. However, I have bad feeling about his death."

"H-He died?" Even though Yuuki loathed the man, her stomach turned painfully as she heard those words. Kakashi nodded, adding, "but there was a boy, a hunter-nin-"

"Haku."

"What?"

"The boy you're referring to, his name is Haku. He and Zabuza work together."

As Yuuki finished her sentence, Kakashi's visible eye widened - he had been right after all...

"Zabuza is still alive then."

"WHAT?!" Naruto, Sakura and Tasuna all exclaimed, eyes wide with shock. Tasuna commented that Kakashi might just be overthinking the matter, but Kakashi insisted that they prepared for the worst, which meant more training. When he heard, Naruto eagerly announced that things were finally getting interesting.

"No, it's not." A foreign voice said from the doorframe. The voice turned out to belong to Tsunami's son, Inari.

"Inari, say hello to them. These are the ninja that escorted grandpa." Tsunami said, looking at her son. The boy let his gaze shift from Sakura, Naruto, Sasuke and finally to Yuuki before bluntly telling his mom that they were merely going to die because there was no way a person could win by going against Gato. To this, Naruto stood up and eccentrically ranted on about how he was a hero that was going to become Hokage one day etc. Inari completely disregarded Naruto's words, saying there was no such thing as a hero and that it was stupid. Sakura then had to stop Naruto from attacking the boy.

"If you don't want to die, you should go home." Inari said, leaving. A tense silence filled the room - mainly caused by Naruto gritting his teeth with anger - before Tasuna apologized for Inari's behavior. Naruto insisted on teaching the boy a lesson, however, he found the boy sobbing in his room. Naruto's eyes softened and he made his way downstairs, joining the others as they were about to head out for training. The team ended up in the woods and Kakashi began the lesson by having Sakura explain the basics of chakra. Kakashi praised Sakura for her knowledge, causing Naruto the complain.

"What's with that? You can just learn that with your body even if you don't understand the technical stuff!" He complained. Sasuke, for once, agreed with the blonde boy, saying that they were able to use techniques anyway.

"No, you guys aren't able to use your chakra completely."

Both Sasuke and Naruto looked at their Sensei with surprise and disbelief.

"Listen up." Kakashi continued, "Like Sakura said, molding chakra means to extract energies from both the body and the spirit, then mixing them up in your body. You are not able to use your chakra effectively. Even if you are able to mold a large amount of chakra, if you cannot control the balance your technique will only be half as effective or not executed at all. Wasting energy will create a weakness of not being able to fight for a long time."

"Therefore, you're going to learn how to control it with your body. You must go through severe training where you put your life on the line." Kakashi finished, a serious look on his features. Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura all looked slightly worried as they dared to ask what the training would be. To their surprise, Kakashi announced that they would climb a tree.

"Climb a tree?!" They shouted in union, confused.

Kakashi nodded, confirming, but proceeded to tell that it was no ordinary tree climbing since they weren't allowed to use their hands. All three looked clueless as to what their Sensei was getting at. Since he was injured, Kakashi requested for Yuuki to show the others what they were supposed to do (he figured that, since she was able to walk on the surface of water, she could do this as well). Yuuki nodded and approached a tree, collecting a steady amount of chakra beneath her feet, then continued to walk vertically on the tree's surface, eventually standing with her head down and her feet connected to a branch.

"By gathering your chakra at the bottom of your feet you will be able to do just that," Kakashi said, pointing at his daughter with the end of the wooden crutch. Yuuki released the chakra, causing her grip to fade away and her to fall towards the ground where she landed soundlessly.

"Hold on, how can we become strong by doing that?" Sakura commented bitterly.

Kakashi continued to explain that, in theory, they would be able to learn any technique if they mastered this exercise, plus being able to maintain the molded chakra while moving in battle. Kakashi then gave all three a kunai, saying that they should mark where they were able to climb up to with their current abilities, then try to exceed their abilities by making a new mark above the previous one. As the three then began training it became clear to Kakashi who had which advantages; Sakura, having great chakra control, was good at finding the right amount of chakra, though she lacked stamina and quickly got tired. Naruto had a lot of potential chakra within him, stamina as well, but he wasn't able to mold the chakra correctly, causing him to fail. Sasuke also had a great amount of chakra, but he wasn't able to control it properly, causing him to fail as well.

"Yuuki," Kakashi called, wanting to talk to her, "go watch Tazuna-san, will you? We can't be too careful..."

"Hai." She answered, offering a small nod, though just as she was about to leave, he added that Sakura would be going as well, causing the pinkette to glare at Yuuki, saying that she would be fine by herself since she was smart. Kakashi awkwardly scratched his neck, not quite knowing what to do about the situation. They ended up both going, but Sakura refused to talk to Yuuki at all and pretended she didn't exist.


	15. The hero of the land of waves

Sakura yawned and stretched her body.

"You look bored," Tasuna commented as he walked past her, a white towel hanging across his neck, "where's that blonde kid and the arrogant guy?"

"They're training with a tree climbing exercise."

"And you?"

"I'm smart, so Kakashi-sensei told me to guard you." Sakura mused, looking as if it was obvious. Tasuna gave her a skeptical look and Sakura frowned, causing Yuuki, who stood by the edge of the bridge looking at the sea, to chuckle lightly.

"What about you?" The bridge builder said, shifting his gaze to the silver haired girl.

"I have already mastered this level of chakra control." Yuuki stated, "Therefore I am to guard you as well."

Before Tazuna could answer, one of the workers, Gichi, came and explained that he would like to quit on building the bridge. Tasuna gave the man a desperate look and asked why - he was short on workers as it was already. Gichi explained that even though he would like to help Tasuna out, he was afraid that Gato might come after him too if he continued working on the bridge. Even though he was mad, Tazuna understood his friend's concerns, but even so, he announced that he himself would not give up before the bridge was done. He said that this bridge was their only hope to get out of poverty, to get hope. The man, Gichi, protested, saying that they risked dying, but Tazuna would not listen and simply said that it was time for lunch break whereafter he turned around to leave. Sakura looked at Tazuna with worried eyes and proceeded to stand up so that she could follow him. Yuuki followed closely behind.

 **_Timeskip to early evening_**

"Damnit!" Naruto yelled after falling on his butt yet another time. "What's with this?!"

The blonde was bruised all over, his clothes dirty from crashing to the ground so many times. Beside him was Sasuke, kneeling on the ground and out of breath as well. Both of the boys were dead tired, their bodies sore and their minds exhausted. Neither of them had made huge progress, though they had managed to reach approximately half way up the tree. Naruto glanced at Sasuke, his teeth gritted in a determined frown; he refused to loose to Sasuke. The raven, equally determined not to loose, looked at the blonde beside him. They both stood up, glared at each other and charged - like they had done all day - at the tree before them.

Meanwhile, Tazuna, Sakura and Yuuki was headed to a store in order to buy ingredients for tonight's dinner. Sakura looked sad as she glanced around and saw numerous homeless and poor people begging for money, food or a job. She frowned even more when they walked past two homeless kids, both of them looking very thin and starved. _What's with this city?_ She thought, a hollow feeling in her stomach.

"This is it." Tazuna announced as they stopped by a small shop. The owner greeted them with a tired voice as the three of them entered the building. Shocked, Sakura looked around and saw half-empty shelves with scraps of food as well as completely empty ones. Yuuki remained in the entrance, watching as her teammate realized the state this city was in. Suddenly, Sakura kicked a thief whom she mistook for a pervert. The guy tried to explain himself though Sakura insisted that he was a perverted old man with dirty thoughts. Tired of the sudden drama, Yuuki picked up the man by his collar.

"P-Please don't hurt me...!" He stammered while Yuuki glared at him angrily, her eyes cold.

"Go away." She simply commanded and let go of his shirt, causing him to fall to hard onto the ground where he immediately set off in a sprint.

"Nice, Yuuki-san!" Sakura commented with smile. After Tazuna finished his shopping - if you could call it that - the three of them left the store.

"I was really surprised back there..." Tazuna said after a time of silence while looking at Sakura with a weird look.

"What's with this city anyway?" Sakura whispered when somebody suddenly grabbed her behind. _Again?!_ She thought angrily while turning around.

"Hey, you-!"

Though, to her surprise, it turned out to be a little boy - not a pervert. Sakura stared at the child. The kid smiled and reached forward his hands in a pleading manner saying, "Give me...?"

Sakura looked at the child with pity, noticing that his clothes were ragged and his hair dirty and tangled. She wanted to help him...

"Here." Yuuki said suddenly, sitting down in front of the boy. She gave him some money and a piece of bread and said, "buy some warmer clothes with the money."

The boy's eyes lit up with happiness and he gratefully took the money and the bread.

"Here, take this too." Sakura said, giving the kid some pieces of candy.

"Thank you." He said, smiled and ran off into the crowd. Tazuna told the girls that ever since Gato had taken over the city it had been like this - poverty everywhere, not enough food or shelter for everyone, even the adults had become cowards and thieves. Sakura wiped a tear away and looked at Tazuna with a thoughtful look.

"That's why we need that bridge right now." The man stated seriously, explaining that it would be a symbol of courage to the people in the town. That it would help people to regain their spirit and will to fight back.

"If only... If only that bridge is finished..." Tazuna folded his hands into tight fists, "Then this town will return to how it was before." He finished, a determined look in his eyes.

"Don't worry, Tazuna-san." Yuuki said, "You'll finish the bridge. We won't let you down."

After that, the three of them headed home to Tazuna.

Back in the woods, Naruto and Sasuke was still trying to reach the top of their trees, one step at a time, and though they were making progress, there was still a long way to the top. Naruto had just marked his latest achievement when he saw that Sasuke had yet to fall down.

 _Damn it. Damn it! Sasuke is still climbing up!_

As he reached the point where his chakra failed to sustain the connection between himself and the tree, Sasuke marked the bark with his kunai and jumped downwards towards the ground.

 _Damn... Naruto's getting closer and closer to me._

Naruto, still behind with a quite a few inches, growled with anger. He stopped himself then, trying to focus instead of thinking of Sasuke. Naruto tried to remember Sakura's advice...

 _First, Chakra uses your spirit energy, so don't get tense or too eager. Relax, concentrate on your energy, and collect a constant amount of Chakra beneath your feet..._

"Concentrate. Concentrate. Concentrate." Naruto chanted, focusing all his energy towards his feet. When he felt ready, he set of towards the tree-

"Hey, Naruto." Sasuke interrupted him, causing Naruto to fall face-first onto the ground.

"Damn you! Don't bother me when I'm concentrating!"

Sasuke ignored the blonde's yelling.

"Um, well..."

"What?" Naruto suspiciously asked. _It's weird for him to come talk to me..._

Sasuke's eye twitched as he avoided looking at anything particularly.

"... You asked Sakura for tips before, right? What did she tell you?"

Naruto, dumbstruck, looked at the raven with wide eyes before giving him a sly grin.

"I won't tell." He stated.

Sasuke glared at the boy, regretting even asking. The two of them continued training until Yuuki came and announced that dinner was ready. At dinner, Tazuna seemed to be in a good mood since it had been a while since he had dinner with so many people. Sasuke and Naruto both stuffed their faces with food as if it was a competition.

"Seconds, please!" They both announced simultaneously, glaring daggers at each other. Though both Sasuke and Naruto then proceeded to throw up on the floor, causing Sakura to scold them. Unable to be reasoned with, both of the boys continued to eat, saying that they had to if they wanted to become strong. Kakashi nodded approvingly, but added that barfing wasn't all that healthy.

After finishing dinner, Tsunami made tea.

"Say, um, why are you hanging a torn picture?" Sakura commented, "Inari-kun was watching this during dinner the entire time. This torn part looks like someone intentionally tore out the person who was there..."

A tense silence filled the room and Yuuki fought the urge to facepalm because of Sakura's completely non-existent ability to shut up. Why would she say all that out loud, Yuuki wondered? It would only cause problems...

"It's my husband." Tsunami said while standing with her back to the others.

"He was the man known as the hero of this town." Tazuna began, though he was interrupted when Inari left the table suddenly. Tsunami asked where the boy was going, though he did not answer.

"Father, I told you not to talk about him in front of Inari." Tsunami scolded the old man before she left the house to find her son. The silence thickened.

"What's wrong with Inari-kun?" Sakura asked worriedly. Yuuki thought it best if Sakura just stayed quiet for now.

"It seems there's a reason behind this?" Kakashi said, urging Tazuna to elaborate.

"Inari had a father that wasn't related to him. They were very close, like father and son. Inari used to laugh a lot back then, but... but... " Tears fell down Tazuna's cheeks as he continued, "Inari changed after the incident that happened to his father. The word 'courage' was forever taken away from the people on this island and Inari after that day, and that incident."

"Incident? What happened to Inari's father?" Yuuki questioned.

"For me to explain the incident, I will need to talk about the man who was known as a hero on this island. It was about three years ago, when the man and Inari met each other."

Tazuna proceeded to tell of how a fisherman named Kaiza saved Inari from drowning as well as scolded the kids who bullied him. Kaiza and Inari became close after that, inseparable, truly like father and son and soon Kaiza became a part of the family by marrying Tsunami. Tazuna told of how Kaiza once saved a part of the town from getting flooded, causing people to call him a hero that protected the town no matter what. Inari finally had a father he could be proud of. Though, it was also about this time that Gato decided to take over the city... Which resulted in Gato capturing Kaiza, torturing him by crushing his arms and, finally, executing him in front of the entire town, including Inari, with the message that if anyone went against Gato, this was what they could expect.

"Inari changed ever since that time." Tazuna said, "Tsunami and the people of this town as well."

The silence that followed was thick and heavy, Tazuna's words still lingering in the air. Naruto had a distant look in his eyes, remembering how Inari had said that there was no such thing as a hero. It all made sense now... Yuuki watched as Naruto attempted to leave the table, though he ended up crashing onto the ground.

"If you're trying to train, don't. You molded too much Chakra. if you move any more, you're going to die."

Naruto ignored kakashi's words and fought to get up from the ground.

"I'm going to prove it to him." He said with a pained expression.

"Prove what?" Sakura asked, as clueless as ever. Naruto, with shaking legs, stood up and curled his hand into a tight fist.

"That there are heroes in this world." He said, smiling with a determined look in his eyes, "I'm going to prove it to him!"


End file.
